Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller met with reporters (including and ) on Tuesday afternoon. While the of Mike Shildts resignation were the main topic, Preller also touched on the Friars uncertain rotation going into 2026. San Diegos front office leader acknowledged that the starting staff is a clear area of need as they face free agent lo ses of and . Cease is a lock to reject a qualifying offer and has long seemed likely to sign elsewhere. King will decline his end of a mutual option in favor of a $3.75MM buyout. The Padres seem likely to i sue him a QO as well, and theres a good chance he rejects that even after an injury-riddled season. The Padres could try to bring King back. He was on track for a nine-figure deal until he suffered a nerve injury in his throwing shoulder. That initially seemed to be a minor concern but wound up costing him almost three months. King mi sed a couple more weeks in August with knee inflammation and did not look as sharp in September. The Padres didnt fully trust him in the postseason, using him out of the bullpen in the Wild Card Series. Its po sible the rocky finish drops King from a five- or six-year asking price to a two- or three-year deal with opt-outs. That could be more in the Padres financial wheelhouse than a $125-150MM commitment would have been had King stayed healthy. For the time being, the Padres need to operate as if Cease and King will not be back. That leaves as the clear #1 starter. should be on track for Opening Day after undergoing Tommy John surgery during last years postseason. The Padres could keep an eye on his innings total, however. is signed for three more years but is coming off a 5. Paul Eboua Jersey 38 earned run average and entering his age-39 season. made 26 starts with a sub-4.00 ERA without mi sing any bats. Deadline pickup was rocked over five MLB starts after the trade. Hes not a lock to be tendered a contract at a $3.5MM arbitration salary. The Padres should decline their $5MM option on , while is on the roster bubble after struggling in Triple-A. Its a thin group after the Padres traded and to the Royals for catcher at the deadline. Thats true even a suming Darvish returns. wrote earlier this month that Darvish has not firmly stated that hell play out his entire contract, which runs through the end of the 2028 season. The veteran righty mi sed most of the first half to elbow inflammation and just had the worst numbers of his career. Preller didnt provide many specifics but noted that he has had some conversations with Darvish early in the offseason. Well keep talking to him over the course of the next couple of weeks to see what it all means for him, he added. It doesnt appear that Darvish has made any decision, but thats another question hanging over an already light starting five. Its a familiar position for the Friars, who seemingly enter each offseason with one or two rotation holes and uncertainty about their ability to add short-term financial commitments. Two years ago, that manifested in building the return around King and pulling off a Spring Training deal to land Cease from the White Sox. They waited out the market last offseason to add Pivetta on a heavily backloaded four-year free agent contract. The Padres have also had a decent amount of succe s building relievers back into starting pitchers. They gave that opportunity after he spent years as a reliever with the Mets. King flourished in San Diego after beginning a rotation experiment with the Yankees. Kolek clearly wasnt as impactful as Lugo or King had been, yet he also found enough succe s as a starter to pique the Royals interest in talks on Fermin. That history led to speculation about the Padres giving another rotation look as soon as San Diego landed him from the As. Miller has been arguably the most dominant reliever in MLB over the past two seasons. He had limited rotation experience 15 starts in the minors and six starts as a rookie before the As moved him to the bullpen. That wasnt a question of talent so much as durability. Miller had fought shoulder and elbow injuries in the minors and lost most of his rookie season in 2023 to forearm tightne s. He has stayed healthy as a reliever aside from a three-week absence in 24 when he fractured his non-throwing hand (reportedly after hitting a table in frustration following a poor outing). has been a full-time reliever for almost four seasons. He also moved to relief because of health concerns but had been a top starting pitching prospect. He had multiple shoulder and elbow injuries, one of which required Tommy John surgery in 2021. Morejon has been healthy for consecutive seasons and developed into one of the games best relievers. Hes coming off his first All-Star season and just fired 73 2/3 innings of 2.08 ERA ball in 75 appearances. Preller didnt commit to roles for either pitcher but left open the po sibility of stretching one or both back out. Well definitely get Masons thoughts and hear what he thinks is best. Well see how the offseason plays out, roster-wise. Then well have some clear direction for him of what that looks like, he said regarding Miller. Preller expre sed a similar sentiment on Morejon. (Hes) a lefty thats throwing three plus pitches with command and the ability to use him in different places in the game. I think thatll be a conversation as we get into it, similar to Mason, about what that looks like here for next year. Moving either pitcher to the rotation would obviously deal a significant hit to a bullpen that was the best in MLB over the seasons last two months. The Padres already seem likely to lose closer , wholl opt out of the remaining two years and $16MM on his deal and could command upwards of $15MM annually on a two-year contract in free agency. Miller would be the heir apparent in the ninth inning if hes not starting. If they move Miller to the rotation, probably becomes the favorite to close. could be in the mix as well, but hes coming back from a season-ending quad rupture. and showed late-inning potential as rookies and could pitch their way into leverage roles if theyre able to throw enough strikes. Avery Bradley Jersey