The San Diego Padres finished the 2024 season 93-69 and made the postseason for the first time since 2022.
Although the season ended with a heartbreaking loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 of the National League Division Series, the Padres showed they could contend with the World Champions.
The Padres have plenty of options this offseason to add additional talent to their roster ahead of the 2025 season with a free agent class.
Padres manager Mike Schildt sent a clear message about his expectations for the team in 2025.
“We fully expect to be right in the mix,” Schildt said via MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM.
“We fully expect to be right there and have Sasaki a Padre at the end of the day.
Mike Schildt expects #Parents make a big addition to his rotation this winter;#WinterMeetings |:
https://t.co/V5LiMNEoWf pic.twitter.com/edHmyIhG0a
— MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (@MLBNetworkRadio) December 9, 2024
The Padres have the unfortunate fortune of living in the same division as the Dodgers in the National League West.
Although the Padres haven’t won the NL West since 2006, Schildt expects his team to make a run for not only the division title but the World Series next season.
One of the free agent starters Schildt says the Padres will be in the running for is Japan’s Rocky Sasaki.
Sasaki is a 23-year-old pitcher coming out of MLB Japan as a free agent this season.
The Padres have starting pitcher Yu Darvish on their roster from Japan, and Schildt believes that could be a factor in bringing Sasaki in free agency.
Last year, Sasaki pitched in 18 games for his overseas team and posted a 10-5 record with a 2.35 ERA and 129 strikeouts in 111.0 innings.
The Padres could benefit from a dominant starting pitching to calm down the Dodgers’ stacked offense next season.
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