It’s far too early in the offseason to put much stock into any national MLB Power Rankings — no team is done tinkering with their roster yet.
Plus, even if you were interested in such things, you’d have to accept some low rankings for the San Diego Padres. Sure, their bullpen should remain elite (barring a trade of Mason Miller) even without Robert Suarez, and their offense, despite some serious struggles in 2025, is still led by Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, and Jackson Merrill. But that starting rotation is… yikes. It’s being held together by Nick Pivetta, Joe Musgrove’s surgically-repaired elbow, and silly string.
And yet, Bleacher Report doesn’t seem to mind. In their post-Winter-Meetings power rankings, they placed the Padres at No. 9 overall, just behind the Milwaukee Brewers and ahead of the Atlanta Braves.
Ranking the Top 10 MLB teams after the Winter Meetings ❄️ @JoelReuterBR pic.twitter.com/L0G66OXuFj
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) December 11, 2025
The Padres, coming off back-to-back 90-win seasons for the first time in franchise history, certainly have earned the benefit of the doubt. But unless Nick Pivetta handles a 300-inning workload next year, it’s hard to see how the pitching staff can live up to that ranking without some reinforcements.
Padres must continue adding to rotation to hang with MLB’s elite teams
It’s hardly novel analysis to suggest the Friars need more starting pitching, but with Nick Pivetta popping up in trade rumors, it bears repeating now more than ever.
Nothing A.J. Preller does this offseason can get the rotation to match up with the ruthless group the Los Angeles Dodgers can run out to the mound, but Pivetta is a regression candidate after an age-32 breakout and Musgrove is, naturally, far from a lock to be a consistent contributor after missing the 2025 season while recover from Tommy John surgery. The Padres just need to do something on this front.
Again, their ranking on B/R’s list is a testament to the stregnths of the rest of the roster. Miller, Adrian Morejon, Jeremiah Estrada, and David Morgan should shorten plenty of games, and there’s too much talent in the lineup for the Padres to rank 18th in runs scored again. The front office doesn’t have to find one-for-one replacements for Dylan Cease, Michael King, and Yu Darvish.
Instead, a few No. 3 starters should do the trick, particularly if the team fancies either JP Sears or Randy Vásquez as a potential breakout candidate. Someone like Zack Littell or Tyler Mahle — pitchers who have shown big upside but have too many red flags to command an expensive multi-year deal —could go a long way in fixing what ails the roster.
Preller is known for his big swings, and he’s indicated that he wants to go big again this offseason. That’d be great if he somehow pulls it off, but the Padres are already one of the better teams in the league. They just need a few extra pieces to make the whole puzzle come together.