Padres Likely to Make Trades to Address Starting Rotation Needs: Report

Mar 27, 2025; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres general manager A.J. Preller looks on before an Opening Day baseball game between the San Diego Padres and the Atlanta Braves at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images | Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

The San Diego Padres are seeking starting pitchers to bolster their pitching staff and complete a unit that was strong for most of last season.

The Padres are likely to lose Michael King and Dylan Cease, two of their top starters, in free agency because they are priced out.

The bullpen, for the most part, remains intact with only their closer, Robert Suarez, likely to leave.

Cease and King will both be sorely missed, though they are set to get a nine-figure, multi-year contract that the Padres can ill afford to pay. Barring unforeseen developments, both will reject their pending qualifying offers and walk, granting the team a compensation pick, but leaving a hole on the roster.

How they go about addressing their starting rotation problem will be interesting. According to Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune, the starting pitching will likely need to come from the trade market.

"There is talk that a trade or two might be the more likely route to find a mid-rotation pitcher," Acee wrote.

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While the Padres have a strong bullpen they can rely on for pitching, they might opt to keep them as relievers, not weakening their strength but instead using those resources to add players to their rotation.

San Diego might choose budget-friendly options in free agency, taking a chance on some veterans coming off a poor season or a pitcher with potential that hasn't been fully realized yet.

With pitching coach Ruben Niebla staying on the staff, perhaps he can help develop one of these arms.

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However, the most probable option is that the trade market offers a good opportunity for a couple of interesting arms.

“Every year, every team in here is talking about starting pitching,” Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller said, per Acee.

“But especially with (Michael) King and (Dylan) Cease in free agency and (Yu) Darvish’s injury, it’s probably our top need going into the off-season.”

Nick Pivetta, Joe Musgrove, Randy Vasquez, and JP Sears are the current rotation for the Padres. This group does not inspire confidence for a playoff run, though the offseason has only just begun and Preller will certainly give Nibela some toys to play with.

For more Padres news, head over to Padres on SI.