The Padres’ 2025 season began with the filing of a lawsuit that could shake the franchise to its very core. It ended with another creative contract that seems to indicate it’s business as usual.
In between, the Padres gave big money to a young star, orchestrated the best start in franchise history, packed the All-Star Game with more relievers than anybody in MLB history, made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for just the second time and still wound up searching for yet another manager.
It all sets up 2026 as yet another consequential year for the Padres, but before we start the new year, let’s revisit the 25 moments that defined the Padres’ 2025 season.
1. Who’s in charge?
In January, late Padres chairman Peter Seidler’s widow, Sheel, files a lawsuit to contest control of the Padres. The move does not slow John Seidler, Peter’s brother, from taking over as control person in March, but it casts a shadow over the future of a team that had spent at new levels under its beloved chairman.
2. An olive branch?
Pitcher Nick Pivetta signs a heavily backloaded, four-year, $55 million contract as spring training gets underway. The deal is a godsend for the rotation as Pivetta (13-5, 2.87 ERA) becomes the most reliable arm and the No. 1 option when the postseason arrives.
San Diego Padres’ Gavin Sheets hits a home run against the Atlanta Braves in the seventh inning during Opening Day of the 2025 season at Petco Park on Thursday, March 27, 2025 in San Diego, CA. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
3. Holy Sheets!
A late-spring power surge pushes Gavin Sheets, in camp on a minor league deal, onto the roster. He comes through on opening day with a pinch-hit home run to break a tie in the seventh inning and send the Padres to a win over Atlanta. Sheets goes on to set career highs in homers (19) and RBIs (71).
4. Magnificent seven
The Padres win their first even games, setting a franchise record. The defending world champion Dodgers win eight, asserting their position as the team to beat in the National League West.
Jackson Merrill #3 of the San Diego Padres catches a fly ball in the first inning hit by Noelvi Marte #16 of the Cincinnati Reds at Petco Park on Sept. 10, 2025 in San Diego, California. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune via Getty Images)
5. Merrill’s madness
Outfielder Jackson Merrill signs a nine-year, $135 million extension before the end of the first week of the season. A week later, Merrill sustains a hamstring strain that costs him a month. He also deals with a concussion and ankle sprain while playing just 115 games in his sophomore season.
6. Up and in, down and out
Fernando Tatis Jr. has eight homers and a 1.020 OPS he’s hit on the left forearm by a pitch in the first game of May. Tatis doesn’t miss any time, but posts a .592 OPS over his next 32 games and finishes the season with an .814 OPS. Tatis wins a Platinum Glove for the second time in his career, but the hit-and-miss tendencies are put on display when he goes 1-for-12 in the NL Wild Card Series.
7. (Sleep) Number’s up
Michael King has a 2.59 ERA through his first 10 starts when a nerve issue surfaces after an awkward night of sleep. King misses three months because of the shoulder issue and, later, another month due to a tweaked knee.
8. Mayday!
The Padres’ season-long losing streak hits six games on May 22, when the Padres lose to the Blue Jays in extra innings.
Padres manager Mike Shildt and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts yell at each other after the Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr. was hit by a pitch during the ninth inning on Thursday. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
9. Baseball’s best rivalry heats up
The Padres lose five of their first six meetings against the Dodgers score a 5-3 win in mid-June to finish a four-game stay in LA. The win is underscored by hit batsmen — L.A. hit Tatis, while the Padres hit Shohei Ohtani — and words exchanged between managers Mike Shildt and Dave Roberts. Shildt, Roberts and Padres closer Robert Suarez are all suspended for their actions.
10. All-Star arms race
The Padres send three relievers to the All-Star Game, a first in MLB history. Suarez and set-up men Adrián Morejón and Jason Adam are all keys to the Padres’ solid first half.
11. Let’s make a deal
Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller makes a splash to buoy his team’s playoff hopes, adding A’s closer Mason Miller to arguably baseball’s best bullpen, Orioles sluggers Ramón Laureano and Ryan O’Hearn to the lineup and catcher Freddy Fermin from the Royals.
12. Briefly on top
The Padres go 15-10 in July and 16-12 in August, taking over the division lead on Aug. 23. It was the latest the Padres had held a division lead since 2010.
13. Tripped up
The euphoria of a series win over the Dodgers doesn’t last. The Padres drop two of three in both Seattle and Minnesota and are swept at home by an Orioles team that sold at the trade deadline, dropping them a firm 2 ½ games behind the Dodgers in the NL West.
Xander Bogaerts #2 of the San Diego Padres celebrates a two-run double in the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Petco Park on Sept. 28, 2025 in San Diego, California. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
14. X-factor
Shortstop Xander Bogaerts hits the injured list in late August after fouling a ball off his foot in Seattle. He returns the final week of the season, going 5-for-18 with a home run and four RBIs, and goes for 4-for-12 in the NL Wild Card Series.
15. Mounting injuries
The injury bug doesn’t stop with Bogaerts. Adam ruptures a quad tendon on Sept. 1, ending his season.
16. Perfection
Miller punctuates his post-trade dominance (0.77 ERA, 23 ⅓ IP) by tossing the second immaculate inning in Padres history on Sept. 3. He strikes out three Orioles on nine pitches — all sliders — to join Brian Lawrence (June 12, 2002) as the only Padres to need just nine strikes to retire a side.
17. Back-to-back
Fermin’s walk-off single on Sept. 22 helps the Padres clinch a playoff berth. The club goes on to win 90 games, tied for the fifth-most in franchise history.
Ramón Laureano #5 of the San Diego Padres looks on during a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Petco Park on Sept. 28, 2025 in San Diego, California. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
18. If it wasn’t for bad luck …
Laureano hits nine homers in 50 games (.812) after the trade from Baltimore and looks like a powerful complement to Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado, but a runaway pitch breaks his finger on Sept. 24. The injury ends Laureano’s season just as the Padres are preparing to leave for Chicago to face the Cubs in the NL Wild Card Series.
19. The Man
Manny Machado’s 2025 season includes major milestones: He surpasses 350 homers and 2,000 hits. But his biggest blow comes in Game 2 of the NL Wild Card Series at Wrigley Field. The Padres are clinging to a 1-0 lead in the fifth inning when Machado blasts a two-run homer into the bleachers, providing breathing room in a 3-0 win.
20. Breaking point
Yu Darvish begins the season on the injured list with an elbow injury before making his season debut in July. Darvish can’t get out of the second inning in a season-ending, Game 3 loss. After the season, the 39-year-old Darvish announces he’ll miss all of 2026 after undergoing procedures on his right elbow.
21. Departure
Shildt announces he’s resigning after leading the team to back-to-back postseason appearances. Health is a reason that Shildt cites while walking away from $4 million over the next two years.
Craig Stammen was introduced as the San Diego Padres manager by President of baseball operations and General Manager A.J. Preller at Petco Park on Nov. 10, 2025 in San Diego, California. (Photo by K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
22. A surprise hire
Shildt’s surprising retirement sends the Padres into an unexpected managerial search. Future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols, former Padres catcher Nick Hundley and current pitching coach Ruben Niebla emerge as finalists before Preller tabs former Padres reliever Craig Stammen as his fifth full-time manager hire.
23. Back on the market
The Seidler family announces it will explore a sale of the team. The family insists that business will continue as usual while a new ownership group is sought.
24. RIP, R.J.
Former Padres pitcher Randy Jones dies Nov. 18 at the age of 75. Long before these Padres became one of the best draws in the game, Jones won the franchise’s first significant award (the 1976 NL Cy Young); became the first Padre to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated; and was ultimately the franchise’s first true star.
Michael King laughs during a news conference after the Padres re-signed him to a three-year, $75-million contract at Petco Park on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025 in San Diego, California. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
25. Return of the King
While Dylan Cease (Toronto), Suarez (Atlanta) and O’Hearn (Pittsburgh) find new homes, King makes a surprise return to the organization in late December, signing a three-year, $75 million contract with opt-outs. The King deal is the first real sign that the Padres are making moves aimed at competing in 2026.