Padres New Owner Sends Clear Warning to Rival Teams Ahead of Postseason

The Padres owner believes in his team like no other.

Sep 24, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; San Diego Padres owner Jose E. Feliciano celebrates with the team after securing a playoff spot at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The San Diego Padres are riding high as the regular season comes to an end.

The Padres just took two out of three against their bitter rival, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and have a firm grip on the No. 4 seed in the National League.

San Diego officially clinched a playoff berth Thursday night and celebrated its third consecutive postseason berth at Dodger Stadium.

The Padres were feeling themselves, so much so that new owner Jose E. Feliciano made a strong declaration.

Feliciano went as far as to say that nobody wants to play his team.

"Nobody wants to play us. Nobody," Feliciano said in an interview while celebrating with the team.

In September, the Padres have a 16-5 record and have won seven of their last eight games.

Padres’ New Ownership Has Set Its Sights on Winning

Feliciano and his wife and co-owner, Kwanza Jones, officially took over the team a month ago and plan to lead the Padres to new heights.

In their introductory press conference, Feliciano made his intentions clear as the new Padres owner.

“We have been blessed with a team in a city that is supporting us in a way that is allowing us to invest back in that team, in that stadium, in that city," Feliciano said. "We're committed to doing that. We are going to live within our means. That can mean different things in different years. But we want to win.

“We're going to continue to support that goal in many different ways. That means that at some points, we will be aggressive. But we're always going to do it while keeping the long-term health of the team in mind. Those are things that we're going to balance."

So far, things are going well for Feliciano and his team.

The Padres hold the top NL wild-card spot, sitting ahead of the Chicago Cubs and the Philadelphia Phillies. As things stand, they will host either of them in a three-game series next week.

San Diego is finishing its regular season at home against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Padres are in position to host their wild-card series, but whether they're at home or on the road, manager Craig Stammen has Michael King lined up to start Game 1 on Tuesday.

San Diego's resurgent offense and bullpen have driven their turnaround, and that could go a long way in their quest for a World Series title.

Like Feliciano said, nobody wants to face this team right now.

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