Inside The Padres

Padres Notes: Friars Targeting Upgrade, Tried to Land All-Star in Blockbuster Trade, Mason Miller to Starter?

All the latest Padres news and notes as we head into March.
Noah Camras|
Sep 9, 2025; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres relief pitcher Mason Miller (22) celebrates after striking out a batter during the eighth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
Sep 9, 2025; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres relief pitcher Mason Miller (22) celebrates after striking out a batter during the eighth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images | Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

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San Diego Padres

The calendar has finally turned to March, meaning we have entered the month where regular season baseball will be played.

With that being said, the Padres currently remain in the thick of Cactus League play, and beat the Seattle Mariners, 7-1, in a dominant showing on Saturday. The bullpen carried the load, as Jeremiah Estrada, Mason Miller, Alek Jacob, Bradgley Rodriguez, Ty Adcock and Kyle Hart combined to pitch six shutout innings, allowing just one hit with seven strikeouts.

Off the field, the Padres are reportedly still targeting an upgrade ahead of Opening Day. MLB insider Jon Heyman reported the Padres are "hunting" for starting pitchers as spring training rolls on.

In other news, the Padres also hunted for an All-Star infielder this offseason, as they reportedly made an offer to the St. Louis Cardinals for Nolan Arenado. The Padres weren't able to entice St. Louis, though, as Arenado was ultimately shipped off to the National League West rival Arizona Diamondbacks for a pitching prospect.

Finally, Mason Miller has already been named the Padres' closer for the 2026 season, but he recently discussed a potential transition to starting pitching at some point in his Padres tenure. The hard-throwing righty was acquired by the Padres at last year's trade deadline, and is under team control until 2030, giving both sides plenty of time to evaluate what's best moving forward.

“I’m focused on this year, of course,” Miller said. “We’ll always have conversations, and I love how good the communication is here. I don’t feel like decisions are being made without me being a part of them. … Hopefully, touch wood, we have a lot of time together here. And who knows where it goes?”

Here’s more information on these stories and all the latest Padres news (click the headline for the full article):

Padres Still Targeting Major Upgrade Ahead of 2026 Season, Says Insider

Padres Tried to Acquire $260 Million All-Star in Blockbuster Offseason Trade

Padres' Mason Miller Gets Honest About Transitioning to Starting Pitcher

Padres Fielding Trade Offers on Multiple Players Amid Spring Training

Padres Predicted to Move First Baseman Ahead of Opening Day

3 Way-Too-Early Overreactions From Padres Spring Training

Padres Attempting Major Position Change With $15 Million Addition

Padres' AJ Preller Discusses Dodgers' Spending, Competing With LA

Padres Tweets of the Day

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Noah Camras
NOAH CAMRAS

Noah Camras graduated from the University of Southern California in 2022 with a B.A. in Journalism and a minor in sports media studies. He was born and raised in Los Angeles and has extensively covered Southern California sports in his career. Noah is the publisher of Padres on SI after contributing as a writer and editor over the last three years.

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