The San Diego Padres re-signed a pair of pitchers ahead of an offseason that will prove crucial for the future of the franchise. The two minor-league hurlers that were signed have been with the organization since 2017 and 2019, respectively, and will continue their journeys to the big leagues.

Additionally, amid an offseason with so many implications towards the Padres championship window, the team at Padres On SI projected what the 2027 Opening Day lineup will look like (whenever that may be, due to the impending lockout). The Padres have 17 potential free agents on the books this offseason and will likely have a very different look next year.

Of the free agent class, five are position players. The sputtering offense from the first half of the season (with a .226 batting average) had an absurd resurgence post-All-Star break (.270 batting average), but the bats will need to stay consistent to remain contenders.

On the pitching side of things, many among the free agency class cannot be relied upon moving forward due to injury history, poor play and the team looking to spend as efficiently as possible. For the Padres to have a championship-caliber pitcher, it would make sense that they look no further than the World Series.

Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen appears to be a strong option for the Padres to acquire via trade in the offseason in a potential blockbuster that would immediately elevate the rotation.

San Diego's starting pitchers did not perform well this season. With the exception of Michael King pitching a 3.21 ERA across a career-high 185 innings, Walker Buehler's second-half improvement (lowering a 5.36 first-half ERA down to a 3.62) and the eight starts Nick Pivetta made, the rotation forced the bullpen to eat the second-most innings in baseball.

Though the regular season saw the usual dominance from the relievers, their cracks started to show in the most crucial time of the year.

Adding someone like Rasmussen to the team and his regular season ERA of 2.67 across a career-high 172 innings of work would not only take a massive load off of the bullpen come postseason, but create more consistency throughout the 2027 campaign.

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