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How the Padres Made the 2025 MLB Postseason

Originally posted on New Baseball Media
By Chris Studley | Last updated Sep 23, 2025 5:10 PM ET

For the fourth time in six seasons, the Padres will partake in playoff baseball. San Diego locked up a spot on September 22, becoming the fifth team in the National League to do so. The Padres will enter the dance with a very strong group, led by arguably the best troupe of relievers in the Majors today.

A dominant bullpen

There may not be a better bullpen in baseball than the one in San Diego.

Heading into play on September 23, the Padres had the best ERA (3.05) among relievers, and were top-five in both K% (25.6% – 3rd) and HR/9 (.82 – 4th). Simply incredible numbers from a group that, yet again, was impressive.

The Padres’ bullpen had three All-Stars this season: Robert Suarez, Adrian Morejon, and Jason Adam. Suarez, the hard-throwing righty, had hiccups along the way but notched 40 saves and struck out 74 over 68.2 IP as the team’s closer. Morejon, the 26-year-old, was once a high-end starting pitcher prospect, limited opposing hitters to a 3.6% Barrel% thanks in large part to a very heavy sinker.

Adam, meanwhile, posted a sublime 1.93 ERA as the main setup man to Suarez this season. Unfortunately for both him and the Padres, he suffered a ruptured quad tendon on September 1 and is done for the year.

But between Suarez, Morejon, as well as pitchers like Jeremiah Estrada, Wandy Peralta, and rookie David Morgan, the Padres have a lot of different arms who can give a lot of different looks between their arm angle and arsenal.

It’s the kind of bullpen that MLB teams dream of.

The stars came to play

The Padres have had their fair share of unheralded heroes, from the aforementioned David Morgan to Gavin Sheets. Sheets, a Minor League signing this past offseason, hit 19 home runs and 48 extra-base hits in a platoon role.

But to make it back to October, the stars have needed to be elite.

Fernando Tatis Jr., with 23 home runs, 52 extra-base hits, and elite defense, has been pivotal for the Padres. Per Statcast, the former Platinum Glove winner is tied with Wilyer Abreu (Red Sox) for the second-best Outs Above Average, behind only Corbin Carroll (+9).

Manny Machado, meanwhile, continues to hit at a high level. This is the fifth-straight season (and 10th-straight full season, not counting 2020) where Machado has belted at least 25 home runs in a season.

On the mound, Michael King (121 ERA+) has been fine when healthy, even though he was hit hard by the Mets a week ago. The big gun, though, has been Nick Pivetta. Pivetta signed with the Padres back in February, just before the start of Spring Training games. And, he’s been excellent as the de facto ace.

The 32-year-old Pivetta is still very much the same kind of pitcher he was back with Boston. He’s made some tweaks, namely adding in a two-seamer sporadically, and moving to the left side of the rubber.

His fastball, a high riser with cut, can get on top of opposing left-handed hitters. That’s been more of the case this year.

Year	Opp. AVG	Opp. SLG
2024	.189	.315
2025	.161	.244

Four-seam fastballs only.

The new confines have suited him well.

An aggressive approach

Getting back to that bullpen, it received yet another boost at the deadline when the Padres acquired 2024 All-Star Mason Miller from the Athletics.

It was arguably the biggest trade made at the deadline. San Diego gave up a pretty penny to get Miller, as the package was headlined by superstar prospect Leo De Vries. De Vries, at age 18, had no problems hitting in High-A, and recently, has torn up Double-A. But despite that high price tag, the Padres improved their current roster.

Miller has been nothing short of incredible out of the pen since becoming a Padre. Thirty-nine strikeouts over 21 innings across 20 outings. A 0.86 ERA that ranked 10th-best among relievers with 20+ IP thrown since the start of August. His 16.7 K/9 in that span was second-highest (Jeremiah Estrada was third) in the Majors, behind only Devin Williams (17.3).

The addition of Miller gives the Padres a lot of options beyond 2025. Miller came up as a starter and could slot back in there, especially with what may happen this winter with their current rotation.

Aside from Miller, the Padres gave up six prospects, including hard-throwing reliever Tyson Neighbors and starting pitcher Boston Bateman, for Ryan O’Hearn and Ramon Laureano.

O’Hearn (90 OPS+) hasn’t had the same impact with the Padres as compared to when he was in Baltimore. Laureano, though, has, as the 31-year-old had 20 extra-base hits over his first 48 games as a Padre.

It’s also worth noting that Laureano is controllable through 2026, thanks to a club option.

Throughout his tenure as president of baseball ops, AJ Preller has not shied away from the “big” trade. Preller’s pulled off a lot of them in recent years. That aggressive approach has cost the team prospect capital. And yet, it also helped them land key pieces who’ve helped the Padres make it back to October.

What to expect in October

There’s a lot on the line for the Padres this October.

Likely, this will be the final year before this group changes considerably. Luis Arraez, on pace to hit below .300 for the first time since 2021, can become a free agent after 2025. As can Michael King and Dylan Cease, the latter of whom has a MLB-best 11.7 K/9 but consistently found himself in trouble this year.

Robert Suarez can also become a free agent by declining his $8MM player option for 2026.

The Padres, unless the Dodgers falter over the last week, are likely on a collision course with the Cubs. Chicago has a great offense but it’s unknown whether that team will be fully healthy come playoff time.

It may be a very good opportunity for San Diego, a team that’s well-built for the playoffs thanks to that elite bullpen. If San Diego can get past the Wild Card round, things may get very interesting in the National League.

The Padres nearly beat the Dodgers in the NLDS last fall and, arguably, have a better roster on paper than a year ago.

This article first appeared on New Baseball Media and was syndicated with permission.

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