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The San Diego Padres are 27-15 and look poised to make back-to-back postseason appearances. They are in second place in the National League West, only half a game behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2025.
As a quarter of the season hits the books, the Padres took two out of three from the visiting Los Angeles Angels in a short west coast series.
San Diego got off to their best start in franchise history at the beginning of the season, starting 8-0 for their first time.
Let’s dive into why Padres fans should have hopes of making the playoffs and possibly making a postseason run.
Why the Padres Are a Playoff Lock
All-Stars Are Producing
Some baseball experts could argue that Fernando Tatis Jr. has been the best player in the MLB so far. Currently, the two-time all-star is batting .308, while smashing 11 home runs (tied for 8th), 26 RBI’s, and has an OPS of .943 (11th). Tatis is a do-it-all player and has been a human highlight reel any time he steps onto the field.
As for his teammate, third baseman Manny Machado, his production has almost matched Tatis’s. The six-time all-star is performing at a high level, during a season when he has had to step up with Center Fielder Jackson Merrill missing several games after being plagued by a right hamstring strain. Machado has done that and more, having a .340 average (5th) and .901 OPS (20th) to help lead the Friars to one of their best starts in a tough NL West division. If it wasn’t known before, Machado and Tatis are the leaders of the team out west.
Pitching Has Stepped Up Without Ace Yu Darvish
On the mound for the Friars, it has been nothing short of superb. In 2025, the Padres have a team ERA of 3.30, which is tied for 5th in the league. The bullpen has been even better, posting a 1.65 ERA, which is the best in the MLB on the young season. People forget this team lost Yu Darvish before the season began and lost Joe Musgrove, who is an outstanding number two or three starter.
Free agent acquisition Nick Pivetta has filled the void nicely, putting up a 3.05 ERA, with 44 punch-outs. Dylan Cease, who has been a reliable starter in the regular season, has taken a step back but will be expected to find his starting form. Michael King has been the best pitcher in the rotation, and San Diego has received much-needed help from unlikely starters Randy Vasquez and Stephen Kolek.
Here are the numbers so far for the starting rotation:
Michael King: ERA of 2.32, 56 strikeouts.
Nick Pivetta: ERA of 3.05, 49 strikeouts.
Dylan Cease: ERA of 4.60, 58 strikeouts.
Randy Vasquez: ERA of 3.45, 23 strikeouts
Stephen Kolek: ERA of 0.00, 11 strikeouts
Another positive for San Diego is that Darvish began his rehab assignment, pitching for the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas on May 14th. He threw four innings and struck out four batters.
Staying Healthy and Expecting a Trade Before the Deadline
Besides Darvish, the team is back to full strength after losing First Baseman Luis Arraez for over a week when he sustained a concussion after colliding with Houston Astros’ Mauricio Dubon on April 20th. Now that Merrill and Second Baseman Jake Cronenworth have returned, expect this team to continue its winning ways. San Diego finished 93-69 last season and earned a wild card berth with almost the same team, except for the loss of left fielder Jurickson Profar in the off-season.
Expect the Padres to make a move before the trade deadline. General Manager A.J. Preller has a history of being active before the deadline. The Friars could look to add another bat, potentially in Left Field or off the bench, as veteran Jason Heyward has been a disappointment this season. They could also add another arm in the bullpen. Last season, Preller traded for Jason Adam from the Tampa Bay Rays and setup reliever Tanner Scott from the Miami Marlins to solidify the bullpen. If the Padres continue to rack up wins, Preller will most likely pull the trigger to improve the roster in hopes of making a deep postseason run.
San Diego will hang with the Dodgers throughout the season for a potential division bid, but if they can’t overcome them, expect the Padres to secure a Wild Card berth. Manager Mike Schildt has this team playing with confidence and knows what adjustments to make during certain situations. Remember, this team had the Dodgers on the ropes last season, taking them to a final game in the National League Division Series.
More must-reads:
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Jayden Daniels takes firm stance on Dan Quinn's decision about elephant in the room ahead of Commanders and Bears rematch
The Washington Commanders are back home to take on the Chicago Bears in an anticipated rematch on Monday Night Football. This game had everything you could ask for last season, between the buildup of the number one and number two overall picks in the draft, and the most chaotic finish of the year. That was last year, though, and the Commanders know they can't reflect on the past as they prepare for this game. Jayden Daniels' mindset has always been one of his biggest strengths, and he showed it again when he agreed with head coach Dan Quinn's comments on the rematch. No reason to hang onto the Hail Mary The showdown between the Commanders and Bears last season had the biggest surprise ending of the season, and it was a massive momentum shift for both teams. The Commanders went on to make a run through the playoffs, while the Bears struggled the rest of the season and made major changes after the year ended. It's very easy to hold onto such an emotional moment as a football player, especially for Daniels, who threw the pass, but he's moved on from it and won't reflect on it anymore, because there's no reason to bring it into the rematch. "I just left that in last year. It speaks for itself," Daniels said. "Like, I mean, that Hail Mary ain't gonna help us win a game on Monday. So what's the point?" Dan Quinn won't bring it up with the team Quinn is on the same page with his quarterback, and the Hail Mary isn't even a topic that has been brought up to the team. "It's last year's story. You know?" Quinn said. "Like, it was awesome. We loved it, but like, it doesn't apply to this week's game at all unless we get into that exact scenario and that exact situation. So then we can talk about it, but until then, like we have a lot of stuff to get better at and work on, to get ready." The Commanders are facing a different Bears team that is coming off a bye week, while the Commanders are looking to bring the momentum from last week's win, and not the Hail Mary finish from the previous season. Every NFC game matters when it comes to the playoffs, so you can't afford to let this one slip away at home.
Golden Knights to sign star center to eight-year extension
The Vegas Golden Knights are expected to sign star center Jack Eichel to an eight-year, $108M contract extension, per the Vegas Review-Journal’s Danny Webster. The move was first reported by TSN’s Darren Dreger. Weber adds that the deal is believed to carry a $13.5M cap hit. On a day when the Winnipeg Jets extended star winger Kyle Connor, the Golden Knights have still found a way to steal the show. Eichel’s extension was long anticipated, both for his impact on the Golden Knights’ roster and the intricacies of how Vegas would fit the deal in alongside the $12M cap hit of Mitch Marner. That question has now been answered, with Vegas locking up the tandem through the next eight seasons for $25.5M each season. Landing a max-term extension with Eichel before he has a chance to play alongside 100-point scorer Marner could prove lucrative for the Golden Knights. Eichel had a career year last season, setting career-highs with 94 points and a plus-32 in 77 games. It was a major leap over the 31 goals and 68 points that Eichel managed in 63 games of the 2023-24 season — and the 66 points he scored in 67 games of the 2022-23 campaign. It seems the top center simply needed to ease into his starring role in Vegas after going through a true saga with the Buffalo Sabres. Buffalo drafted Eichel second overall in 2015, properly dubbing him second-fiddle to Connor McDavid’s historic draft season. Despite that seat, Eichel boasted plenty of reason for excitement in his own right and seemed to single-handedly will Boston University to a National Championship loss in his draft year. He brought that team-leading drive straight into the NHL, marked by 24 goals and 56 points in 81 games of the 2015-16 season. That remains the most a Sabres rookie has scored since the 1980s. Even better, Eichel matched it in fewer games of his sophomore season, with 24 goals and 57 points in 61 games. But that quickly became Eichel’s M.O. He was oft-injured, but proved to be the undeniable star of Buffalo’s lineup when healthy. He reached at least 25 goals in each of his next three seasons in Buffalo, and even showed his strength with 82 points in 77 games of the 2018-19 season, when the Sabres collectively only won 33 games. The tension between a struggling club and its productive star reached a peak as the 2020s rolled around — and a breaking point when the two sides couldn’t agree on how Eichel should handle an unprecedented shoulder surgery in 2021. Sabres traded Jack Eichel to Golden Knights in 2021 After multiple bouts back and forth and a seemingly endless run of trade rumors, Buffalo decided to trade Eichel to Vegas in November 2021. In return, the Sabres received Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, the draft pick used on Noah Ostlund (2022: 1-16) and a second-round pick traded to Minnesota. All three players remain with Buffalo. Meanwhile, Eichel quickly received the surgery he had preferred upon arriving in Vegas. His 2021-22 campaign was limited to 34 games due to injury, but he recovered in time for the 2022-23 season. Routine injury still marred his year, but he stayed healthy long enough to lead Vegas on a run to the Stanley Cup in 2023. He led the Golden Knights and the postseason in scoring with a dazzling 26 points in 22 games — though the Conn Smythe trophy would go to his goal-scoring teammate Jonathan Marchessault. Regardless, Eichel’s push towards a Cup win showed the Golden Knights, and the hockey world, that he had the grit to be the star center on an NHL champion. He has reaffirmed that thought with 17 points in 18 playoff games since Vegas lifted the Cup. Extension should give Jack Eichel confidence boost With this move, Vegas will place a strong bet on Eichel’s ability to hang onto that role through his 30s. More importantly, they’ll give him a big boost of confidence as he heads into his age-29 season. Eichel has never played alongside a 100-point scorer, nor broken that ceiling himself, but he’ll get his first chance this season. Like Eichel, Marner struggled to crack the century mark for multiple seasons, recording at least 85 points three times between 2021 and 2024. He even reached 99 points in 2022-23. But it wasn’t until last season, when he scored 27 goals and 102 points in 81 games, that Marner was finally able to achieve the feat. In a rare shift, he has now changed teams following a career year and will look to keep the good times rolling on a recent Cup winner. The top of Vegas’ offense is truly a stacked group, featuring Mark Stone, Tomas Hertl, William Karlsson, Pavel Dorofeyev and Ivan Barbashev to support Eichel and Marner. The heights of the lineup seem hard to place, and if all goes well, Vegas has ensured they can keep the band together with a pair of long-term extensions for their two stars.
North Carolina reportedly considering nuclear option with Bill Belichick, and that's justified
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The Kansas City Chiefs seemed to be in total control on "Monday Night Football." They jumped to an early 14-0 lead over the Jacksonville Jaguars and were dominating on both sides of the ball before it all went downhill. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was 29-of-41 with a touchdown and an interception, while Jaguars signal-caller Trevor Lawrence was 18-of-25, also with a TD and an interception. Despite similar stat lines, it was Lawrence who rallied his squad to a 31-28 win. The difference? The Chiefs drew a whopping 13 penalties, making it incredibly difficult for them to pull out a win as they constantly went backwards and gave up yards. That said, Kansas City head coach Andy Reid didn't seem to agree with some of the calls: "We had 13 penalties, to their 4," Reid said, per Harold R. Kuntz. "Whether I agree with them or don't agree w/ them, it doesn't matter. They called them. So, you have that many penalties, you give up field position, you can out stat them to death, but that doesn't matter. It's the score that matters." Andy Reid must be held accountable Reid is entitled to his opinion, but Monday night's game wasn't an outlier. The Chiefs have become one of the most undisciplined teams in the league, and that ultimately falls on the coach. Reid has also stuck with Jawaan Taylor at right tackle, even though he's leading the league in penalties for yet another season. As pointed out by Josh Dubow of Associated Press, the Chiefs are currently tied sixth for the most enforced penalties per game (8.4), fifth in enforced penalty yards per game (70), tied for the second-worst penalty differential (-13) and the third-worst team in penalty yard differential (-90). It's too early to sound the alarms, but undisciplined teams rarely go the distance. Reid is one of the greatest NFL head coaches of all time, but he needs to be held accountable and, more importantly, get to work to fix these issues.
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