Now that it’s set, who are you rooting for and why?

Ty France solidified a position of need for the San Diego Padres in the 2026 season. The right-handed slugger joined the team in the offseason on a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training. At the time, there were questions of whether he would even make the team. France competed with Gavin Sheets and Nick Castellanos for regular playing time at first base but eventually made the team and took control of the position and added another Rawlings Gold Glove Award nomination to his resume.

France played at San Diego State University and was drafted by the Padres in 2015. He made his debut with the club in 2019 but eventually was sent to the Seattle Mariners in a trade along with outfielder Taylor Trammell, reliever Andres Munoz and catcher Luis Torrens in exchange for catcher Austin Nola and relievers Dan Altavilla and Austin Adams in 2020. It was a move that never seemed to make sense to the Friar Faithful.

France spent four years with the Mariners then bounced from Seattle to the Cincinnati Reds, Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays from 2024 to 2026. France returned to San Diego and took full advantage of his return. The right-handed slugger had 440 at-bats over 133 games and finished with 21 homers and 72 RBI. France ended the 2026 season with a slash line of .295/.363/.502. He solidified the cleanup spot in the Padres lineup and provided protection for Manny Machado in the No. 3 hole.

There is no question that France had a successful season at plate, but what he did in the field may have had an even greater impact. France provided Gold Glove caliber defense, which is supported by his nomination for the National League Gold Glove Award at the position. France allowed the infielders to play and throw free knowing if they short-hopped a throw or were offline to either side or up or down he was going to make a play and likely record the out.

France will be a free agent at the end of the MLB season, but he should be a top target for the Padres. The veteran has made no secret that he enjoys playing in and for the Padres. He stabilizes a position of need and arguably one of the most valuable positions on the field considering most plays end with him catching the ball. The Friar Faithful have seen the inconsistency and the struggles at first base over recent seasons, France provides an inhouse opportunity solidify the position. There are questions as to whether he can replicate his offensive production in future seasons, but if he is successful and comfortable in San Diego, he should be given the chance to prove he can.

October 17, 2026 -- Also good to read:

https://www.mlb.com/news/padres-questions-to-address-this-offseason

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Hey Friends! Apologies if this breaks any rules, but going to do a mailbag for Monday's episode of the podcast and wanted to reach out to the Reddit Friar Folk. Any questions on the Padres, free agency, the lockout, life, or literally whatever and I'll answer on the show!

Made a lot of crosses/headstones out of pallets at work and had to get creative with the names. But this one was easy

The Padres had overcome the Cubs’ left-handed hitters in the Wild Card round by limiting them to an 0-for-14 line with a 41.2 K% in 17 plate appearances. In the NLDS round however, with the exception of Joe Musgrove, Michael King, and Nick Pivetta, the rest of San Diego's pitchers struggled to prevent left-handed Milwaukee hitters from reaching base. How did the Brewers manage to be so consistent? Jackson Chourio (six RBIs) and William Contreras (two RBIs) combined to capitalize on several key at-bats with runners on base that shaped the direction of the series, but when you look at the final results, it was the left-handed hitters who did the most damage, scoring eight of the Brewers' 13 runs in the NLDS, with five stolen bases in the same number of attempts. Let’s explore some details in a pair of charts - view inside the link.

October 17, 2026

Hey everyone, was thinking about posting this to r/baseballcards, but figured it would get more respect here. I was born in 2002 a few years before the Padres moved into Petco, but my earliest memories of the Padres were either being in front of a radio listening to the games or being at the game with my parents. There was always one player that caught my attention, wether it was Jerry Colman on the radio broadcast making his iconic calls over his plays, or seeing him making plays I never thought were humanly possible with my own eyes. That was Khalil Greene. I had a few collectibles of his from over the years, baseball cards from Rich, the absolute greatest member of the pad squad of all time,(think troves of kids doing jumping jacks in the park in the park) or compadres kids rewards. But I never had my grail, something that he had immortalized in ink. Well now I can say it’s no longer a dream. This beauty came in the mail yesterday and I couldn’t be happier. I had previously owned the plaque and non signed card, but wanted to swap it for the autograph when it arrived.

Couple of related but non related things.

If anyone reading this knows Rich, the Padres staff member I was referring to who would hand out baseball cards to kids in the park in the park please reach out!

Second
Khalil if you see this somehow some way, Just know YOU, and YOU alone are the reason I love the game of baseball and that Padres so passionately and I hope you know that people in San Diego loved/still love ya man 🫶

And finally Padres fans,

Yes this year was painful as all hell. But let’s be honest, would we trade it for the world? I wouldn’t I’ll love my team till I’m cold and gone, 100 rings or 0 rings. GO PADRES

Via MLBPipeline

With the last 3 teams left being the Rays, Guardians, and Brewers I had a thought about each one that makes me a little uneasy in my stomach.

1. The Guardians: Currently with the longest active World Series drought, if they win it all we would take their place as the longest active drought. Technically the Brewers as an organization would be tied with us but because they moved from Seattle to Milwaukee in 1970 we have a year on them.
2. The Brewers: Similar to the Guardians, If they win, that would leave us as the oldest team without a ring. Would still be better than the Guardians in terms of a drought. But at least they have a win in their history regardless of what time period/format was used at the time.
3. The Rays: If the Rays win, it would be another gut punch as yet another much younger team was able to win the world series before we do.

At the end of the day, I do like all 3 of these teams and have nothing against them. But it's starting to get to me how long we've had to wait to win the last game of the season. So of these 3 teams, who do you guys want to see hoist the trophy?

I miss picking up these little schedules from the grocery store checkout!

Hey Compadres,

I just wanted to briefly take advantage of my moderator powers one last time to say goodbye. I am stepping down as a moderator. The last four years have been a blast and it’s been a joy to chat with you all, and get to know some of you in modmail (you’re my favorites).

I have too much going on in my life these days to be able to help the rest of the moderator team in a way I can be happy with. I’d love for one of you all to take my spot when they decide to fill it in the spring. Those guys work really damn hard behind the scenes to make this a fun place to talk Padres baseball and watch the Dodgers flame out in spectacular fashion.

I’ll be around. Not as much as I’d like, but you’ll catch me in some game threads.

Here’s to a great offseason and a World Series in ‘27. Go Padres!

Beerfarts86

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/be37a67a61df1458c53ebbd7ccaa2edad58e2575

SAN DIEGO — Five years ago, in the weeks between the end of the World Series and the beginning of a 99-day lockout, the San Diego Padres poached manager Bob Melvin from the Athletics and agreed to re-sign right-hander Nick Martinez to a four-year, $25.5 million deal. Otherwise, they did relatively little.

They exercised club options on relievers Pierce Johnson and Craig Stammen. They signed relievers Robert Suarez and Luis Garcia to modest free-agent contracts. They jettisoned second baseman Adam Frazier to the Seattle Mariners, receiving reliever Ray Kerr in return.

It wasn’t until business resumed the following March that Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller and then-owner Peter Seidler took their biggest swings.

They poked around on first baseman Freddie Freeman before he signed a six-year, $162 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. They thought they came close to signing Seiya Suzuki before the Chicago Cubs threw the outfielder a five-year, $85 million offer. And, in a previously unreported gambit, Preller planned to meet with one of the sport’s top sluggers before the Philadelphia Phillies secured the same target with a four-year, $79 million agreement.

“I was getting on a plane to go talk to Kyle Schwarber and got told to get off the plane because he was going to finish up a deal with the Phillies,” Preller said. “That one hurt a little bit or a lot of bit because he’s a phenomenal player. It seems like he hits a homer every time we play him.”

That was the most interesting revelation from a video call Preller and Stammen, now the Padres’ manager, conducted Wednesday, a week after their team was ousted from the postseason.

Seven weeks from now, Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement will expire, and another lockout is expected to commence. No one knows how long it will last — or how much Preller will try to accomplish next month, between the end of the World Series and the beginning of potential labor Armageddon.

“It’s hard to predict,” Preller said. “I think we’ll look back on that ’21-22 offseason … and my guess is that there’s a chance that it follows some kind of pattern there. I think we’ll get a way better feeling coming out of the GM Meetings (in November).

I still miss the Franimal

In 2026, the fraternity of big leaguers with diabetes remains small. Yet this postseason has served as a showcase, linking a few players on different teams to a common cause. Mitchell might be the only one still competing, but until last week, he was joined by fellow Type 1 diabetics in Padres closer Mason Miller and Chicago White Sox reliever Jordan Hicks.

“I think we kind of take it on as a responsibility we have to be a role model,” Miller said in an interview with The Athletic before the NLDS. “Just to give kids an opportunity to meet you and see that you’re a real person and hear it from you that the things that we’re achieving are possible, and that Type 1’s not something that holds you back.”

“When I get the chance to meet kids, I just always tell them that you’re never going to have it all figured out. I certainly don’t,” Miller said. “It’s an imperfect science, and it’s things like your monitors or pumps or whatever you’re using to help you. Just the technology and resources we have these days really allow you to kind of shrink your ‘miss’ window.”