FAQ: What to know about the Padres' offseason

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SAN DIEGO -- The offseason is officially underway. Here’s everything you need to know about the Padres’ winter -- key dates, option decisions, potential roster moves, areas of need and more.

What are the key dates?

Oct. 31: Eligible players became free agents. That started a five-day “quiet period” in which free agents could negotiate only with their own team. Also, the trade freeze has been lifted, and Major League players may be traded between clubs.

Monday: The deadline for teams and players to make decisions on contract options, the deadline for clubs to reinstate all players on the 60-day injured list and the deadline for clubs to tender qualifying offers. Also, the “quiet period” ends, and Major League free agents are free to sign with any club as of 2 p.m. PT. Minor League players become free agents at 2 p.m. PT, if applicable.

Tuesday-Thursday: General manager meetings in San Antonio, Texas.

Nov. 19: The deadline for players to accept a qualifying offer is 1 p.m. PT, and the deadline to add players to the 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft is 3 p.m. PT.

Nov. 22: Tender deadline. By 5 p.m. PT on the Friday before Thanksgiving, teams must formally tender contracts to unsigned players for the following season, including their arbitration-eligible players. If a player is non-tendered, he becomes a free agent.

Dec. 9-11: Winter Meetings in Dallas, including the Rule 5 Draft on Dec. 11.

Dec. 15: End of the 2024 international signing period.

Jan. 10, 2025: Eligible players and their teams exchange arbitration figures.

Jan. 15, 2025: Start of the new international signing period.

• Full guide to offseason dates, rules, terms

Who are the Padres’ free agents?

Several Padres are slated to hit free agency this offseason, including outfielder Jurickson Profar, left-handed reliever Tanner Scott, catcher Kyle Higashioka, outfielder David Peralta, infielder Donovan Solano, lefty Martín Pérez and catcher Elias Díaz.

Which players have contract options?

The most notable is shortstop Ha-Seong Kim, who owns an $8 million mutual option, with a $2 million buyout. Kim is coming off recent surgery to repair a labrum tear in his right shoulder, but it remains likely that he’ll decline that option and test the free-agent market along with the above Padres.

Meanwhile, left-hander Wandy Peralta owns a $4.25 million player option.

Will any of the free agents be back in 2025?

The biggest question mark seems to be Profar, who is coming off the best season of his career and has posted markedly better numbers in San Diego than he has anywhere else. He has expressed a desire to return, though he noted, “It’s not totally in my hands; they’ve got to want me, too.”

Scott is expected to command closer money on the open market, so it’s highly unlikely he’ll return as Robert Suarez’s setup man. But the Padres have needs at catcher, on their bench and in their rotation, meaning all the rest of their pending free agents could return at the right price.

Will any Padres get a qualifying offer?

Doubtful. Both Profar and Kim would presumably command more than the $21.05 million qualifying offer in free agency. But that will come on multiyear deals at a lower average annual value. Scott, having been traded midseason, is not eligible to receive one.

If the Padres were to offer either Profar or Kim the QO, they would receive Draft pick compensation if either or both were to turn down the offer and sign elsewhere.

Which Padres players are eligible for arbitration?

Infielder Luis Arraez, right-handers Dylan Cease and Michael King and infielder/outfielder Tyler Wade are all entering their final season of arbitration eligibility. Meanwhile, righty reliever Jason Adam, lefty Adrian Morejon, righty Luis Patiño and catcher Luis Campusano are arbitration-eligible with multiple years of team control remaining.

Are there any non-tender candidates?

Among the arbitration-eligible players, Patiño is the most obvious non-tender candidate, as he’s coming off Tommy John surgery. The Padres will need to make decisions on Campusano and Wade as well.

The Padres are on the hook for any players tendered a contract ahead of the Nov. 22 deadline, and if the two sides can’t come to an agreed-upon salary, that salary would be settled through arbitration. In 10 years under general manager A.J. Preller, the Padres have not gone to arbitration with a player.

Are there any extension candidates?

King and Arraez -- two players the Padres have acquired via trade in the past 12 months -- are obvious extension possibilities, as they enter their final year under team control. (Cease is less likely, given what he’s likely to command in free agency as a career-long ace.)

Meanwhile, keep an eye on rookie outfielder Jackson Merrill. There’s little urgency, given that Merrill has five more seasons of team control in San Diego. But Merrill has expressed a love of playing San Diego, and clearly, that feeling is mutual. The two sides briefly explored the possibility of something long-term last winter, and it’s possible they’ll rekindle those talks again -- albeit at a steeper cost to the Padres, given Merrill’s breakout rookie season.

What is the Padres’ payroll situation?

The Padres reset their competitive balance tax penalties with a payroll below the first tax threshold in 2024. That means if San Diego exceeds the threshold in ’25, its penalties wouldn’t be as steep as they’ve been in the past (in terms of Draft picks and international signing bonus money). Right now, the 2025 CBT number sits at $241 million. It’s unclear if the Padres would look to remain below that number.

“We’ve demonstrated we want to win,” said Preller. “We’re here to win a championship. I think we’re going to do it responsibly.”

As things stand, the Padres’ projected payroll, including arbitration salaries, sits just below $200 million. But their payroll for CBT purposes (which uses average annual contract values, rather than yearly salary) sits much closer to that $241 million number. San Diego might have to get creative if it would like to add and stay below that number. Or it could exceed it for a fourth time in five years.

Do any notable prospects need to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft?

Among MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 Padres prospects, these players must be added to the 40-man roster by Nov. 19 or they will be eligible to be selected in the Rule 5 Draft: right-hander Henry Baez (the Padres’ No. 7 prospect), catcher Brandon Valenzuela (No. 12), left-hander Jagger Haynes (No. 20), lefty Jayvien Sandridge (No. 21), lefty Omar Cruz (No. 22) and righty Ryan Bergert (No. 25).

What do the Padres need this offseason?

With Joe Musgrove expected to miss the 2025 season due to Tommy John surgery, the Padres could certainly use another starter. Whether they add via trade or free agency, they could be looking for a longer-term piece -- particularly considering the uncertainty surrounding the rest of their rotation. (Yu Darvish is 37, and both Cease and King are slated to become free agents next offseason.)

Beyond a starting pitcher, the Padres need a catcher and a corner bat (with Higashioka and Profar as potential options). They also must figure out their shortstop situation, though it’s possible they’ll simply keep Xander Bogaerts at short -- where he played down the stretch after Kim’s injury.

San Diego’s bullpen, meanwhile, looks fearsome again for 2025. But with Scott’s departure, it could use another left-hander.