This story was excerpted from AJ Cassavell's Padres Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts served as a correspondent for the 2023 World Series, taking fans behind the scenes at the Fall Classic. This year, he’s a little busy. So, three other players will fill Betts’ shoes as correspondents for MLB during this year’s Yankees-Dodgers clash: Braves infielder Ozzie Albies, A’s

This story was excerpted from AJ Cassavell's Padres Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

SAN DIEGO -- On the day after the World Series matchup was officially set, Padres general manager A.J. Preller held his end-of-season media availability. "Obviously," Preller said during a brief opening statement, "we wish we were still playing baseball." In a wide-ranging 40-minute conference call, Preller spoke about a number

SAN DIEGO -- Padres infielder Luis Arraez underwent surgery on Wednesday to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb -- an injury that bothered him throughout the final four months of the 2024 season. Arraez announced the news himself in a post on X on Wednesday, saying: "Today, I

SAN DIEGO -- The 2024 Padres reeled off dramatic victory after dramatic victory all summer. It made the end of their season so confounding. When they needed to do the thing they did best, they just ... couldn't. "There’s no way to explain the hard moments,” said Jurickson Profar. "Just

The first thing you hear about Ethan Salas the ballplayer is how incredibly advanced he is for his age. There seldom are 18-year-olds in big league Spring Training camp or at the Arizona Fall League, but San Diego has handled Salas’ development with one ethos in mind: Push the gifted.

SAN DIEGO -- The Padres handed the keys to a then-20-year-old rookie in center field in 2024. Jackson Merrill lived up to every conceivable expectation. Now, Merrill is a favorite for the NL Rookie of the Year Award, alongside Pittsburgh's Paul Skenes. But where does his rookie season rank among

MESA, Ariz. – Ethan Salas and Leodalis De Vries have been inextricably linked to begin their pro careers, having been the respective No. 1 overall international prospects in 2023 and ‘24, both choosing to sign with the Padres. Top prospects of rebuilding clubs who come with extreme promise and impact

It’s that time of year again: the announcement of the MLB Pipeline Hitting and Pitching Prospects of the Year for each organization. The group is led by our overall Hitting Prospect of the Year Kristian Campbell (Red Sox) and Pitching Prospect of the Year Quinn Mathews (Cardinals). They are two

While we keep saying the game is getting younger and younger, there’s actually data to back up just how much of an impact rookies have had on the game. According to FanGraphs' calculations, 2024 rookie hitters amassed 60.7 WAR, third all-time in AL/NL history behind 2023 and 2015. And this

PEORIA, Ariz. -- The season is meant to be measured in growth. In many ways, Ethan Salas has been just trying to get back to equilibrium. He appears to be getting there. Need proof? Look at one statistic in particular. “I’ve been like that my whole life ever since I

LOS ANGELES -- Another offseason and another free agency for Jurickson Profar. Only this time, Profar will hit free agency as an All-Star -- a proven middle-of-the-order threat, coming off the best season of his career. He still hopes he ends up in the same place. "I'm a free agent

MESA, Ariz. -- The Padres aren't afraid to challenge elite young prospects. They sent Ethan Salas, the top player in the 2023 international class, to Double-A at age 17 last summer. They had Leo De Vries, the best player in this year's international crop, spend all of this season as

This roster moves and injury updates page will be updated throughout the offseason as news happens. Players currently on the 60-day injured list will need to be added back to the 40-man roster after the conclusion of the World Series.

LOS ANGELES -- Jackson Merrill was the last one off the railing. Game 5 of the National League Division Series was over. So was the Padres’ season -- in agonizing fashion. Beyond the mound, the Dodgers celebrated. The Padres -- empty-handed after a season-ending 2-0 loss on Friday night --

LOS ANGELES -- During the regular season, the Padres put together one of the best offenses in franchise history. Through their first five postseason games, they scored 30 runs. Then San Diego's lineup went dormant at the worst possible time, and the season ended with back-to-back shutout losses. The Dodgers

The Arizona Fall League is often called a showcase circuit or prospect graduating school – a place where the Minors’ top talents gather for six weeks in the Valley of the Sun to compete before putting their stamps on the Majors. But the six AFL rosters aren’t loaded with Top

There is a ton that goes into constructing an Arizona Fall League roster. Each AFL club receives prospects from five separate organizations, all with different needs and priorities. Some want their best prospects to spend time in the desert. Others primarily want formerly injured players to make up for lost

SAN DIEGO -- Before they became the San Diego Padres, they were ... well, they were still the San Diego Padres. But they played in the Pacific Coast League. Before San Diego became a Major League city with an expansion team in 1969, the Minor League Padres played in the

SAN DIEGO -- The Padres became a Major League franchise in 1969, but the San Diego Padres were in existence long before then. In fact, the Padres' first season came in 1936 in the Pacific Coast League after Hollywood Stars owner Bill Lane opted to move his team to San

SAN DIEGO -- When the Padres approached Dylan Cease on Monday with the idea of starting Game 4 of the National League Division Series on short rest, Cease made it clear he was all for it. He had a request though. “I’ve told them,” Cease said on Tuesday night, “I

SAN DIEGO -- There had been so much off-the-field noise in the previous 48 hours -- so much bickering over which baseballs had been thrown in whose direction and how hard -- that Mike Shildt sat at the podium in the Petco Park auditorium on Tuesday afternoon and made it