Again, the Padres will avoid an arbitration hearing.
The Padres on Thursday agreed to contracts with six players ahead of the deadline to exchange arbitration figures. The Padres have not gone to arbitration during the A.J. Preller era.
Relief pitchers Mason Miller, Adrián Morejón and Jason Adam all agreed to one-year deals for 2026, as did starting pitcher JP Sears, outfielder Gavin Sheets and catcher Freddy Fermin.
USA Today reported Adam will make $6.675 million, while Sheets will make $4.5 million, Miller $4 million, Morejón $3.9 million and Fermin $2.1 million.
Sears was projected to make $3.5 million in his first year of arbitration by MLBTradeRumors.com.
Morejón’s salary will nearly double the $2 million he made last year as a first-time All-Star. Morejón is due to become a free agent after the season, as is Adam, who was also a first-time All-Star.
Sheets’ first significant payday comes after hitting a career-high 19 home runs after signing as a minor league free agent. Sheets is two years away from free agency.
Catcher Luis Campusano was also eligible for arbitration for the first time, but he agreed to a $900,000 deal for 2026 in November.
Per baseball’s collective bargaining agreement, salary arbitration is offered to players who’ve accumulated at least three years of service time, although the top 22% of players with two years of service time — like Miller and Fermin — also qualify. Players reach free agency after six years in the majors.
The Padres last participated in an arbitration hearing in 2014 with pitcher Andrew Cashner. They nearly went to a hearing last year with pitcher Michael King, but the two sides agreed to a one-year deal weeks after failing to come to an agreement ahead of the annual January deadline.
King reached free agency this season but returned on a three-year, $75 million deal with opt-outs after each of the first two seasons, the Padres’ biggest move so far this offseason.
The team also signed Korean utility infielder Sung-Mun Song to a four-year, $15 million deal last month.