San Diego Padres Offseason To-Do List with Marty Caswell

San Diego Padres Offseason To-Do List with Marty Caswell

Time to hit our offseason to-do list covering the San Diego Padres’s. And we are very pleased to be joined by Marty Coswell, who writes for the Sporting Tribune, and is now going to be a regular contributor to Frier Territory, part of the FT Network, the Padre Show. So, Marty, welcome. We’re excited to have you and to chat with you more frequently and get right into the San Diego Padres’s. So, how you doing and congrats? Hi everybody. Um, happy Monday. Thank you so much, Todd, Eric, and Scott. I am so thrilled to be here and join your outstanding crew, work with our guy Kyle Glazer, and talk some Padres. So, thank you so much for having me. It’s a It’s a true pleasure. Thank you. Yeah. Uh, pleasure is all ours. Love your coverage uh of the Padres’s. So, let’s get right into it. Let’s give everyone a taste of what Frier territory has to offer. Lay down the offseason to-do list in your mind for the Padres’s. The top three most important. Number one has to start with their president and baseball ops and their GM AJ Pllor entering the final year of his deal. We have been talking about the idea of an extension for AJ Pller for I mean shoot since since the last month of the regular season. It was brought up during the intro press conference for Craig Steman, their new manager. Right. We asked um uh Padre CEO Eric Grouper about what’s going on. No one will really say, “Oh, this is a done deal. It’s going to happen.” There is the likelihood and the expectation it’s going to happen, but it still hasn’t happened. So, I don’t think you can really move on with anything else and know what this future is going to be about until we have absolute certainty on Padres’s GM AJ Prowler. All indications, including from Craig Stamon, was that this is going to happen. But the fact that it is now November 24th, the uh the baseball meetings are upon us and there’s still no deal. Uh that’s going to be interesting. Number two, it’s going to be the starting pitching. Um we know that Michael King, Dylan Cease, um they declined their options. They are now free agents. U Darish is out for all of 2026 and who knows what his future with the Padres’s is. He has three years left on his deal. So right now, when you look at the Padres’s rotation, this is what they have. They have Nick Paveta who was an absolute bargain who was a a fine for the Padres late last December. Uh they have Randy Vasquez who was a fine back of the rotation sort of piece and they have uncertainty around JP Sears who was part of the the interesting trade for Mason Miller that also saw them giving up a top prospect Leo Dere. So the starting pitching you can never have enough starting pitching and right now the Padres’s have one guy that’s a lock. Also, I should have mentioned that Joe Musgrove is going to return after major major Tommy John surgery, but we don’t know what he we don’t know what to expect from Joe Musgrove when he does return. I spoke to him a couple weeks ago when the Padres’s um hired Craig Stamon. He says that he is in the right spot right now. The velocity, the spin is very good when he has his bullpen and he is proceeding with his off season in a normal normal offseason. But who knows on Joe Muskerv what to expect when he does join the Padres’s. But he does expect to be part to be ready for spring training. And and last on my list right now, and it’s a long list, but we drink top three would be first baseman. Uh not sure what the future is for Luis Arise. He is currently a free agent. I know he wants to return, but I think the Padres’s want a little bit more slug from their first baseman. We’ll see how that market sorts itself out. I know the Padres’s might be interested in R in bringing back Ryan O’Harn, but right now they do not have a true first baseman. Although although they could move Jake Croninworth from second base back to first base where he filled in very very well, but right now my top three, AJ Prowler, the uncertainty about his future starting pitching. Um, can they can they convert or Mason Miller into a rotation piece and finding a slugging first baseman? All right. You said extend AJ Pllor. You know, extensions are two-sided. Is there any chance that AJ Prowller says, “I’ve already spent all this money. I’ve already spent all these prospects. I’ve built this team up.” If he sees what ownership or the flux in owners ownership that we’re at in San Diego, is he like, “H, you know what? Maybe I do want to go and be probably the most coveted GM out there on the market and walk away. Or is this definitely a two-sided extension talk where they both want AJ Prowler to be the GM for a long time in San Diego? Um, I think it two-sided and I don’t know that there’s any certainty that we know for sure that AJ Prowler is going to be the guy long term. I think that the big the giant elephant in the room is the uncertainty about Padres’s ownership. He was very very close with the late Peter Sidler who is a big reason why the Padres’s were able to spend that kind of money and extend Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado and Bogart and you know big contracts for Joe Musgrove um and for U Darvish but but Peter passed away a couple years ago and now the the current chairman um John Syler has made it clear that he he’s looking to sell the team. So, I don’t know right now that we know what’s going to happen um with Padres’s ownership and and when ownership comes in a lot of times they they want their own people and maybe HR was like, “Listen, I’ve been here for 10 years. I did my thing. We were we tried to go ahead and build up on on Peter’s vision. Um Padres’s have one of the greatest atmospheres in baseball. As you guys know, Petco Park is is sold out every single night, but um we don’t know what’s going to happen now with with the future of this organization.” John, we have not spoken with John Sylther. I think he spoke maybe once with the Padres’s uh radio flagship, but he has not made himself available to speak with the media. So, we don’t know really what J John Sylther thinks on on on AJ Per. So, we’re going to we’re going to find out um a lot. But again, I I don’t know that I feel like this is an absolute lock. Maybe if you’re AJ Prowler, you want to go somewhere where you you have firmer footing, like you know what the future of the organization is going to be. And right now there’s a lot of I don’t know when it comes to the future of the Padres’s ownership. Talk to me a little bit about Well, first off, I think the Padres’s have one of the best reliever relieving teams in in the country. I’ I’ve always thought that. I’ve always thought when their relievers came in almost lights out as we’ve seen. But, you know, we’re talking about Mr. Miller here, Mason Miller. All of a sudden in the rotation, we got throws over 103 miles an hour. I mean, talk to me a little bit about that question and what their, you know, prognosis and thoughts are there. I can’t wait to get to spring training so we can ask Mason Miller. I know that you guys had Jim Bowden on a while ago and he he mentioned a conversation that he had with Mason Miller. Um, I want to say a year and a half ago at the All-Star game where Mason Miller said he did not he’s done that before. He doesn’t want to be a starter. And of course, we know that Robert Suarez um he is he’s was allowed to become a free agent. There was a mutual option there. So, the Padres’s don’t have a true closer. We thought at that time that Mason Miller was brought in to to be that guy. But if Mason doesn’t want to do it, then I don’t know how you you can’t make him do it. But then again, then again, Ruben Yabla is is different. This is a different situation than Mason Miller was with the the the Oakland A’s or the Sacramento A’s or the Vegas A’s or whatever they’re calling them these days. It’s a completely different situation. So maybe if you’re Ruben Yabla and you’re a former reliever of Craig Stamon who’s now his manager, perhaps they can they can convince him into it. But if not, you can look at Adrien the idea of con converting him into a starting pitcher. Or maybe it’s going to be David Morgan. But um right now, right now, I wouldn’t I thought Mason Miller at that time was brought in to be the future for Robert Suarez, who’s now a free agent. So that’s a good problem to have if you’re the Padres’s. I’m looking forward to seeing how convincing Ruben Yabla and Craig Stamon can be in convincing him that he has a future, a better future uh in the rotation than the back end of the bullpen. And one more another point there. Um Todd, one thing that AJ Peller has done in an an incredible job of is finding allar relievers. We know what Robert Suarez is and he was an all-star this year. But don’t forget that Kirby Yates was an all-star for the Padres’s as their closer back in 2019. Before that, it was Brad Hand in 2017, 2017, and 2018. That was during an era though where the Padres’s could not afford to pay their stars. They traded their allstars. But one thing it tells me is that AJ Puller does not have a problem when it comes to finding all-star relievers. Right. Well, you your last point was first base. First base is a need for San Diego and they showed you what we have Luis Arise here last year and so we don’t need off. We don’t need a lot of power from first base. The Padres’s as a team need power. First base is the I mean, if your rest of your team’s not going to hit for power, your first baseman has to. Is there a chance because of the payroll flexibility or inflexibility of their payroll that they can bargain shop for home runs? Essentially, you need if the Padres’s stick to where they’re at, you need about 30 home runs from first base. And that’s not happening under 15 million million dollars a year on the free agent market. It it’s it’s not going to happen. And I almost feel like part of their philosophy for for last year. I mean, you want to you want to get slug. I think they were expecting a lot more slug from their platinum glove right fielder. And that’s going to be interesting right there because what they said all along was, you know, if we you could you can get a first baseman and you can get you can survive with 10 to 15 home runs if you’re getting major sled from your outfielders. And they didn’t get that from Tatis last year. So I I don’t know that the we can expect the Padres’s to be in the market for like a Pet Alonso or something like that, but we’ll see what the market is for a guy like Ryan on her who is a great fit in the Padres’s clubhouse. But I I with with the way the payroll is right now and you’re pushing $200 million even though you don’t have your rotation set up. Um I don’t know that I’m expecting the Pod to spend a ton of money when it comes to their first base their first baseman. you’re probably going to hope that you get a lot more slug from Tatis, you know, maybe rebound from from Eddie Machado. Of course, Raone Lauraniano before he went injured, he was slugging like crazy. So, I don’t know that the Padres’s are going to be in the market for uh a top hitting first baseman. That’s where you want your slug, but they just they haven’t gotten it. Then again, they haven’t really gotten it consistently from the spots they were expecting this last season. New manager Craig Stamon. Um, you know, everybody was thinking like, “Oh, wow. Look at this.” It was kind of like over there in the distance. Nobody really thought, you know, I mean, I don’t think anybody knew at the end of the day. But hey, I’m not mad about it. I I think this is this is different. I think the baseball’s different. I like ex players getting in in my family. Look at you laughing at that. I I love what I want to get your thoughts on that for one, but for two, how do you think the players are going to adjust to this in the new manager in Craig Todd? they’re going to adjust a lot better than they did with a previous firsttime managers. I’ll start with the Andy Green era and the Andy Green era was different because he was not brought in to win. He was brought in to be the bridge to when they could start, you know, spending some money. He started off his his Padres’s career with the four rule five um uh picks on the opening day roster, right? And Jayce Tingler, Jayce Tangler, man, he was a good buddy of of Adri from their time in the Rangers. He didn’t have a chance because he didn’t have a clubhouse that bought into him. He never had a chance with guys like Eric Hosmer and and and Manny Machado and and a young Tatis. This is going to be different though with Craig Stamon because number one, he has the support of the guy that I keep saying is the most important clubhouse guy um on the Padres’s and that’s Manny Machado. Stamon said that he heard from Manny Machado right away um and he was so excited for for the hire. And when when Craig Stamon was a reliever with the Padres’s, he was so respected. You don’t usually hear about like a a relief pitcher being a leader in that clubhouse. But Craig Stamon was was wildly popular in that clubhouse. He was so respected. He’s really respected by Manny Machado. Um I think I think he told a story about how he and and Manny would play cards on every single flight. So he he has guys I had Joe Muskre on my on my one of my shows um gosh the day they made the announcement or the day that the news came out and he said give this guy a chance. I know he’s a first- time manager. He’s never coached at any level. Fans fell in love with the idea of Ela Puhol who was a a you know Hall of Famer and one of the biggest stars of of in baseball history. But Craig Stamon knows the organization inside out. He is AJ Peller’s trusted right-hand man. He knows the scouting system. He knows the front office. He knows the organization. He’s not going to be new. So, I think he’s going to bring instant respect inside that clubhouse. It’s going to be different than it was for an Andy Green, for um for a Jayce Tingler, and even Mike Schil who had to really go out of his way um when he was hired by the Padres’s two years ago. And this and and Schill like went on tour. He went to the Dominican Republic, he went to Miami, he went everywhere to get to know these guys and let them know, listen, I’ve never played or coached. This is who I am. The difference that Craig Stamon has is a good portion of the guys in that clubhouse, the leaders, the cog, the key cogs, the Tatis, the Manny’s, the Joe Muskro, they know who Craig Stamon is. And AJ Prowler knows who he is. And that gives him a very big advantage. All right. 2022, the Padres’s were Bryce Harper away from making the World Series. 23, they did not make the World Series. 24. They were one game and one throw into the dugout away from Manny Machado going to the World Series. Same same old same old. Is this successful for the Pod for AJ Prowller who you want to get extended and the Padres’s fans who absolutely clamor for this team and they love being in this environment if they just keep making the playoffs and not finishing the job because this is clearly the team they need to make a splash. Will they make a splash this off season to push it forward or are they just going to continue to hope and pray that something goes their way when they make the playoffs? I think there’s a bit I think you have a great point there. There was a bit of a dis I think Padres’s fans are a bit disgruntled right now because they are seeing the separation. you want to have a you want to have a deep playoff run. And I don’t know there was really that belief that the Padres’s were going to make a deep playoff run this um gosh this this in 2025 because of the state of the pitching staff. That was a big issue and they didn’t know what was going to happen with Michael King um or his health. Dylan CE was not Dylan CE and the Padres’s don’t have that guy. So I think I think there’s a lot of unease with Padres’s fans because you want to see your team getting better and better. Um, we saw what the Dodgers did, which is the last thing you want if you’re a Padres’s fan. And they have they have deep pot they have deep pocketbooks. Padres’s fans have gone through this before with with the team being sold and the wild uncertainty it left. There’s a small feeling that last year was was kind of the the last their last best chance. That was their window, right? Because you it was you had Dylan CE and you had Michael King and and you have Manny Machado was like in his prime. So, they’re getting older and they have less pitching. So, I don’t know that Padres’s fans are feeling it and I don’t know that they think that they can make a deep splash because of the uncertainty around the ownership. One thing that Padres’s CEO Eric Grouper said at the presser for Craig Stamon was he he expects that they’re going to it’s going to be business as usual and they will still hold a top 10 payroll, but a lot of those commitments are the players they have already under contract. Manny Machado, Tatis, Bogarts, they’re going to make what over hund00 million combined from 20 from 2027 on. So, I don’t know that there’s a uh there’s a true belief that the Padres’s can spend the way they did when they under Peter Sidler, especially when it seems like a sale is is imminent.

Marty Caswell, newest co host of Friar Territory, joins Todd Frazier, Erik Kratz, and Scott Braun to lay out the San Diego Padres offseason to do list. They dig into the future of president of baseball operations and GM AJ Preller, the uncertainty around ownership, and what it means for payroll and Petco Park expectations. Marty breaks down the Padres rotation questions with Joe Musgrove’s return, Mason Miller’s role, and why starting pitching has to be a priority. The crew also hits on first base options, how much slug San Diego really needs around Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr, and what Padres fans should realistically expect in 2026.

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