2025 San Diego Padres

2025 San Diego Padres / Franchise: San Diego Padres / BR Team Page

Record: 90-72, Finished 2nd in NL Western Division (2025 NL) Wild Card

Managed by Mike Shildt

Coaches: Brian Esposito, Ben Fritz, Tim Leiper, David Macias, Mike McCoy, Ruben Niebla, Nick Punto, Pat O'Sullivan and Vic Rodriguez

Ballpark: Petco Park

History, Comments, Contributions

The 2025 San Diego Padres got off to a great start, sweeping the Atlanta Braves at home in a four-game series to open the season. The last of the four games was broadcast nationally on "Sunday Night Baseball" and ended with three pitchers, led by Nick Pivetta, who was making his first start in a Padres uniform, combining to pitch a one-hitter in which the Braves sent the minimum number of batters - 27 - to the plate, their two baserunners having both been erased on double plays. They then won their next two games as the Cleveland Guardians were the next team to visit Petco Park, to improve to 6-0, the best start in franchise history. The only problem was that their long-time nemesis, the Los Angeles Dodgers, were also off to the races, having won all seven of their games at that point, so the Padres were just keeping pace with their rivals, and even trailing them by a half game in spite of their great play. The strong start was no fluke, given they had been outstanding during the second half of 2024, going 43-19 over their last 62 games, then taking the Dodgers to the limit in the Division Series, providing them with the strongest opposition they would face all postseason. The Padres made it seven straight wins by completing a sweep of the Guardians on April 2nd - but the Dodgers also won that day to keep their half-game lead. On April 9th, they became the first team to 10 wins in the majors after a 2-1 win over The Athletics, but that also coincided with the absence of some key players from the line-up: 2B Jake Cronenworth, RF Fernando Tatis Jr. and CF Jackson Merrill. While the first two were expected to return in short order, Merrill was placed on the injured list with a pulled hamstring that same day and was going to miss 10 games at a minimum. Their 12th win of the year on April 12th was also their fifth shutout already - 2-0 over the Colorado Rockies; both totals were major league bests at that point. The next day, Mike King pitched the first complete game and shutout of his career in defeating Colorado, 6-0, to complete a three-game sweep in which their opponent failed to score a single run - the first time a major league team had accomplished this since 2017. With a record of 13-3, the Padres were in first place, one a half games ahead of the surprising San Francisco Giants.

The Padres suffered their fist defeat at home on April 15th - 2-1 to the Chicago Cubs in 10 innings - but it came after a team record 11 straight wins to start the season. They then completed their second homestand with a 4-2 win over the Cubs the next day. That gave them an overall record of 15-4 (12-1 at home), their best ever after 19 games, tied with the 1998 edition of the team which was also the last to play in the World Series. They had the best record in the majors at this point, with the only other two teams having more than 12 wins being their division rivals the Giants and the Dodgers. On May 10th, they recorded the most lopsided shutout in franchise history wehen they annihilated the hapless Colorado Rockies by a score of 21-0. Stephen Kolek tossed a shutout in what was just his second career start. Their largest margin of victory before that had been 16 runs, last done in 2021 and the 21 runs were one shy of the record for most in a shutout win since 1900. Kolek was also the first Padres pitcher ever to pitch a complete game shutout at Coors Field, while the team's 23 hits tied the club record.

The Padres were the busiest team at the trading deadline, landing seven major league players in five separate deals. The acquisitions included Ps Mason Miller and JP Sears from The Athletics, OF Ramon Laureano and DH Ryan O'Hearn from the Baltimore Orioles, P Nestor Cortes from the Milwaukee Brewers, C Freddy Fermin from the Kansas City Royals and IF Will Wagner from the Toronto Blue Jays. The cost was a total of 14 players, with two major leaguers, P Stephen Kolek and OF Brandon Lockridge, and almost half of their top-20 prospect list, two of whom, Ryan Bergert and Eduarniel Nunez, had made their big league debuts in recent weeks. It was obviously a big gamble, but they felt that they had a chance to make it to the World Series in a year when no juggernaut team had emerged. They also decided to hang on to an underperforming Dylan Cease, who was the subject of trade speculation, with the hope that there was still time for him to find another gear in time for the postseason. The moves provided immediate dividends as the Padres went 8-3 in their first 11 games in August. With the Dodgers sputtering at the same time, it was enough for them to get into a tie for first place following a 5-1 win over the Giants on August 12th. They had not been in first place since May 10th, when they had moved into a tie for the position that had lasted just one day. They had a chance to consolidate their position and demonstrate that they were the new sheriff in town when they went to L.A. for a three-game series at Dodger Stadium from August 15-17, but instead, they were swept in the three games, and fell two games back of the lead again.

It took them another month, but the Padres clinched a spot in the postseason with a 5-4 win over the Milwaukee Brewers, owners of the best record in the majors, on September 22nd. It was their 86th win of the year and with a deficit of 2 1/2 games on the Dodgers with five left to play, they still had a mathematical chance of catching them, although it would take a huge collapse from their rivals. In any case, it was their fourth time reaching the postseason in the last six years.

Awards and Honors

• All-Stars: Jason Adam, Manny Machado, Adrian Morejon, Robert Suarez and Fernando Tatis Jr.
• NL Gold Glove: Fernando Tatis Jr. (RF)
• NL Silver Slugger Award: Manny Machado (3B)

Further Reading

• AJ Cassavell: "What does 2025 hold for the Padres?", mlb.com, January 2, 2025. [1]
• AJ Cassavell: "Padres 'handle the deviations' en route to one of the best starts in franchise history", mlb.com, April 16, 2025. [2]
• AJ Cassavell: "Padres rewrite team record books to back Kolek's shutout", mlb.com, May 11, 2025. [3]
• AJ Cassavell: "'Built for the 2nd half': Padres like their position at 100-game mark", mlb.com, July 21, 2025. [4]
• AJ Cassavell: "Padres add relief ace Miller on Deadline day with 5 trades, 22 players on the move", mlb.com, July 31, 2025. [5]
• AJ Cassavell: "Padres keep cruising, catch Dodgers for division lead", mlb.com, August 13, 2025. [6]
• AJ Cassavell: "Padres walk off into October, return to postseason for 4th time in 6 years", mlb.com, September 23, 2025. [7]
• Mark Feinsand: "After stunning Trade Deadline, Preller's Padres primed for compelling offseason", mlb.com, September 3, 2025. [8]
• Sarah Langs: "California dreamin' ... and winning: Dodgers, Padres both open unbeaten: 1st time 2 teams in same division have both been at least 7-0", mlb.com, April 2, 2025. [9]

2025 MLB season by team