With the end of the 2025 season, which was official when Game 7 of the World Series ended, the busy offseason begins. There is always a rush of activity immediately at the start of the Hot Stove season that is followed by a quiet spell over the holidays. Once the Winter Meetings conclude on Dec. 11 of this year, there is usually much less activity until after the first of the new year.

Although acquiring players and extending players are exciting developments, the Padres have two important goals to accomplish first. An extension for President of Baseball Operations/General Manager A.J. Preller needs to be finalized and a new manager needs to be named. It is better all-around if those issues are settled first and a coaching staff is named. The players know exactly who they are dealing with when the leadership is established first before they sign contracts.

For this Hot Stove season, Nov. 2 was the start of activity. Starting on Sunday, multiple players have opted out of their contracts already. For the Padres, that included Robert Suarez and Michael King with Wandy Peralta opting in to his third year of his four-year deal. The players and teams have five days after the end of the series to declare their decisions.

During that same time, the players with contracts that have ended can renegotiate with their present team and at the end of five days can sign with any other team they chose. Trades are also again open the day after the series ends and teams can begin discussions.

On Nov. 6 the players who opted out of contracts will be receiving any qualifying offers that their former teams choose to offer to them. It is highly likely that Dylan Cease and King will receive qualifying offers from the Padres. It consists of a one-year contract at a fixed salary and that is $22.025 million this year. The player has until 4 p.m. EST on Nov. 18 to decide whether to accept. If refused, any team that signs that player pays a penalty that consists of a lost draft pick and the player’s former team receives a compensatory pick in the next draft.

Winter Meeting and Rule 5 draft

From now until Nov. 18 the teams have to set their rosters for the Rule 5 draft, which occurs during the Winter Meetings. Each team’s 40-man roster must be set before the draft begins so all decisions about who to add from the minor leagues must be made. The Padres have seven free agents now that King and Suarez have opted out. If none of their free agents re-sign, the Padres will have a minimum of seven open roster spots. If Elias Diaz, Kyle Hart or Yu Darvish have a change in status (Diaz and Hart have a mutual option and a club option, respectively and Darvish is deciding his future) that would possibly free up more roster spots.

There are several minor league pitchers that could be drafted out of the Rule 5 draft if not protected by being placed on the roster. The names include LHP Luis Gutierrez, RHP Miguel Mendez, LHP Jagger Haynes, RHP Victor Lizarraga, RHP Manuel Castro, RHP Francis Pena and RHP Garrett Hawkins. The organization has to decide who they think could conceivably help them next season as well as who could possibly stick on a 26-man roster with a claiming team if they leave them unprotected.

In my view, Hawkins, Mendez, Castro and Pena would be the most likely to have a shot with the Padres or another team. It will be interesting to see if any of them are placed on the roster before Nov. 18.

Position players IF Romero Sanabria and OF Braedon Karpathios seem less likely to be claimed if left unprotected. They are both prospects without enough development to stick on a roster.

If the Padres opt to attempt to resign any of their free agents, they have an exclusive window until Nov. 6. After that time, they will have to compete with other teams for the player. Should they choose to attempt to re-sign King or Ryan O’Hearn, for instance, this would be the optimal opportunity. Once the window opens on competing offers, the price would be expected to go up.

Padres fans should know by Thursday if the team has been successful in re-signing any of their free agents within the exclusive window.

Arbitration eligible players

The window is now open for teams to begin negotiations with their arbitration eligible players. That window closes on Jan. 8 so there is lots of time to work out contracts with these players. The arbitration eligible Padres are Adrian Morejon and Jason Adam who are in their last year of eligibility before being free agents. Gavin Sheets has two more years of control. JP Sears and Luis Campusano have three more years of arbitration. Mason Miller and Freddy Fermin are both under control for four seasons.

Preller has never had to go to arbitration court with any player during his tenure as general manager. If the deadline passes without a contract there is still time to sign the player before the arbitration hearing takes place and that has occurred with Preller on occasion.

The Hot Stove season can be exciting as well as frustrating. The Padres have multiple needs and open spots to fill. We can only hope that some things start happening soon.