How the San Diego Padres Are Actually Building Their 2026 Roster

The San Diego Padres have a lot to be excited about for the 2026 season.

After a relatively quiet first few months of the offseason, the Padres have been very active as of late, adding numerous proven veterans on low-risk deals. On top of that, the Padres are getting a few key guys back from injury as they look to yet again establish themselves as a top contender in the National League.

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Padres on SI has already predicted what the Opening Day roster will look like. Now here's an in-depth look into how the Padres have built their 2026 roster.

Starting Rotation

The Padres' starting rotation is top-heavy and full of question marks. Nick Pivetta appears to be the most sure thing, but he's coming off by far the best season of his career and will have to fight to avoid any regression to the mean.

Then there's Michael King and Joe Musgrove, two aces when healthy who are coming off major injuries. It's difficult to predict what the Padres will get from them early in the season.

After that, there are the question marks.

Randy Vásquez appears to have the inside track to the fourth spot in the rotation. Then, a handful of veterans will be fighting for the last 1-2 spots in Walker Buehler, Germán Márquez, JP Sears, Triston McKenzie and Marco Gonzales.

If any of those guys pan out, the Padres' rotation should be in a great spot. If not, the Padres will need a repeat performance from their bullpen.

Bullpen

The bullpen is the strength of the Padres, as it was last year.

Mason Miller, who the team acquired at last year's trade deadline, is replacing the departed Robert Suarez at closer. Behind him will be All-Stars from a year ago in Jason Adam and Adrián Morejón. Good luck to opposing hitters from the seventh inning on.

After that, there's plenty of depth with Jeremiah Estrada, David Morgan, Bryan Hoeing, Yuki Matsui, Wandy Peralta, Bradgley Rodriguez and more. The Padres, like they did last year, will be relying on their bullpen to win them games in 2026. There's also a chance they trade from their surplus of reliever depth to address another need before Opening Day rolls around.

Position Players

The Padres still have their top five of Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, Jackson Merrill, Xander Bogaerts and Jake Cronenworth (they just may change up the order this year).

After that, there's trade deadline addition Ramón Laureano and 2025 breakout star Gavin Sheets, as well as catcher Freddy Fermin (also acquried at the deadline). Then, there's the new guys.

Nick Castellanos, Miguel Andujar and Sung-Mun Song are all new faces expected to play a significant role for the team early in the season. Luis Campusano is the clear option to be Fermin's backup, and then there's a handful of depth pieces who will likely be competing for the final spot on the bench. Those players include Ty France, Bryce Johnson, Will Wagner, Mason McCoy and potentially even Jose Miranda, who's off to a strong start this spring.

Are the 2026 Padres better than the 2025 team?

The Padres outperformed expectations in 2025, winning 90 games and finishing just three games behind the eventual World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

On paper, this team feels like it has more upside, especially if the likes of Castellanos and/or Andujar produce.

On the pitching side, there are more question marks, but if King and Musgrove remain healthy, and one of their veteran signings pan out, San Diego could be in strong position to yet again compete with the Dodgers atop the NL West.

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