LOS ANGELES -- The Padres are in -- and they sure made it dramatic, didn’t they?

Indeed, there’s plenty of that drama still to come, even after the Padres became the first team in baseball history to clinch a spot in the postseason with a game-ending triple play on Tuesday night.

“This is what you play for, to get an opportunity to play in the postseason,” said Jake Cronenworth. “And this group's ready.”

Here’s a look at what to expect and what lies ahead for the playoff-bound Padres:

What could the postseason roster look like?
Here’s one guess:

C: Kyle Higashioka, Elias Díaz
1B: Luis Arraez, Donovan Solano
2B: Jake Cronenworth
3B: Manny Machado
SS: Xander Bogaerts, Nick Ahmed (or Ha-Seong Kim, if healthy)
OF: Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill, Jurickson Profar, David Peralta, Brandon Lockridge
UTIL: Tyler Wade
SP: Michael King, Dylan Cease, Joe Musgrove, Yu Darvish
RP: Robert Suarez, Tanner Scott, Jason Adam, Jeremiah Estrada, Adrian Morejon, Bryan Hoeing, Wandy Peralta, Martín Pérez

What are the biggest roster questions?
There are minor questions in the bullpen -- and perhaps a question as to whether they’d carry 12 pitchers or 13. But the biggest spot in flux on a potential postseason roster is shortstop. Kim is still dealing with the effects of a shoulder injury. It’s unclear if he’ll return this season. But with the end of the season in sight, it seems unlikely.

Bogaerts has moved to shortstop in Kim’s absence, and the Padres recently selected the contract of Ahmed to serve as their backup shortstop.

What are the Padres still playing for?
Mainly, their first division title in 18 years. If they can finish the season tied with L.A., the NL West would be theirs.

The Padres have already secured the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Dodgers. They also own the tiebreaker over Milwaukee (as the Padres would need to finish as one of the top two division winners to earn a bye to the National League Division Series).

“There’s more to be had than just a Wild Card spot,” said rookie phenom Merrill. “We’ve still got a chance at this [division title], and we’re going to give it everything we’ve got.”

If the Padres can’t chase down the Dodgers, there’s still value in finishing as the top-ranked Wild Card team. That would come with home-field advantage in the Wild Card Series.

Whom might the Padres play?
If the Padres win the NL West and earn a first-round bye, their opponent wouldn’t be determined until after the Wild Card Series. If they finish as the top Wild Card -- where they currently sit -- they’d hold the No. 4 seed in the NL with three possibilities to grab the No. 5 seed: the Mets, Diamondbacks and Braves.

That said, the Padres might not know their Wild Card Series opponent until Monday. The Braves and Mets are slated to play a doubleheader in Atlanta on Monday after the last two games of this week’s series in Atlanta were postponed due to inclement weather.

What might the Padres’ postseason rotation look like?
Again, this depends on where the Padres finish -- and potentially whether their regular-season finale against the Diamondbacks on Sunday carries division-title implications.

King is tentatively lined up to start that game. But King also has a strong case to feature toward the top of a postseason rotation, given that he’s posted a 2.15 ERA since the All-Star break.

If King doesn’t pitch Sunday, the Padres could go with their current alignment of King-Cease-Musgrove. If he does, the Padres could line up Cease-Musgrove-Darvish for a Wild Card Series. Or, if they earn a bye, they could line up Cease-Musgrove-King-Darvish for the NLDS.

As Musgrove recently said: “This is the problem you want to have -- having one too many arms over one too few.”

When do the playoffs start?
Each Wild Card Series begins with Game 1 scheduled for Tuesday. If the Padres were to win the NL West and earn a bye to the NLDS, they’d open their postseason on Saturday, Oct. 5 at Petco Park against the winner of one of those Wild Card Series.