Padres Manager Considering Lineup Shakeup Amid Offensive Struggles

After a slow start to the 2026 season, the San Diego Padres found their footing on the field, allowing the team to get back into the National League West division race. Despite the season only being a little over a month old, the Padres didn't want to fall too far behind.

But over the last week-plus, the Padres have come back down to earth a little bit. Overall, San Diego has gone 3-6 over its last nine games, with the offense starting to sputter a little bit.

The Padres' run differential is in the negatives right now, coming in at minus-2 for the season. This isn't going to get the job done, especially with all the injuries that the team has seen from its starting rotation this year.

Manager Craig Stammen spoke on the offensive issues, saying that tweaks could be coming down the line. Stammen, in his first year with the team, has his work cut out for him to get the offense going.

“We’re definitely racking our brains and trying to figure out why that is. We just haven’t hit our stride early in games yet,” Stammen said. “We’re making small little tweaks here and there to see if that might spark the difference. I’ve probably got to look internally, maybe in the lineup or something like that, but kind of anything is on the table to spark us early in games.”

The Padres haven't scored four runs or fewer in six straight games, and haven't been able to put together timely hits. This team just isn't putting together strong at-bats during games, and it has come back to hurt them in the win column.

Luckily for the Padres, the rival Los Angeles Dodgers have gone through their own issues, so the division deficit has remained very manageable during these offensive woes. But the trend of the Padres' offense being stagnant isn't something that the organization wants to continue.

San Diego has seen problems coming from its star players this year, including Fernando Tatis Jr., who is yet to hit a home run. His troubling home run drought has played a factor in the offensive problems of the team, and there is no telling why this has occurred.

But Tatis isn't the only star on the Padres to struggle, as Manny Machado has also seen his share of issues at the plate. Overall, Machado has hit just .221 with five home runs and 18 runs batted in with an OPS of .718.

The combination of both Machado and Tatis not being as effective as normal has impacted the Padres' overall offensive prowess. But the season is still young, and there is plenty of time for this team to figure it out.

If anything, it's encouraging that they have still found ways to win games despite the offense struggling. But if this team wants to seriously contend for a World Series title, the offense will need to get going eventually — and Stammen knows that.

“I think eventually, if we want to be who we want to be — you know, we’re not just a good team but a great team — we’ve got to be able to handle pitchers like that and figure out a way to put a few more runs on the board," Stammen said.

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