At the All Star break, the Padres have a 52-44 record — and with the team getting healthier on the mound,
San Diego
could be poised for another memorable playoff run.
Veteran right-hander Yu Darvish returned to the Friars’ rotation July 7 after three months of rehab for elbow inflammation. In 2024, he went 7-3 with a 3.31 ERA in 16 regular season starts.
In his first start this year, Darvish struck out the first batter he faced — the Diamondbacks’ Corbin Carroll — but earned a loss after giving up two runs in four and two-thirds innings.
In his second start July 12, Darvish gave up four runs in four and two-thirds innings.
The team could
welcome back
another righty in early August — Michael King, who’s been on the 60-day injured list since May 22 with a nerve issue in his throwing shoulder.
Right-hander Joe Musgrove, could potentially return to the lineup too if — er, when — the team makes the postseason.
Musgrove, who underwent Tommy John surgery last October, began playing catch off the mound the week before the break. He has said that he believes he can return to game action in the postseason, which begins Sept. 30.
At eight games above .500, the Padres have reason to hope they can secure that playoff spot. Their winning percentage at the break this year is better than at the same point during either of their past two campaigns.
At last year’s All Star break, San Diego also had a winning record, 50-49, but had won just
four of its last 10 games.
This year, the team bounced back from a rough June by winning six of its last 10 games.
The Friars will begin the latter half of the season in the final wild card slot, just ahead of the Giants (52-45). They trail the 58-39 Dodgers — as always, it seems — by 5.5 games.
The Padres resume play Friday with a three-game series inside the beltway against the Nationals.
Moves before the deadline?
Looming ahead is the July 31 trade deadline.
Over the years, team executive A.J. Preller has become known for his daring at the deadline, shore up weaknesses with midseason trades.
A few days ahead of the All-Star break, Preller said in an interview with MLB Network Radio that the Padres have feelers out to gauge if difference-makers might be available.
“We started making calls a few weeks ago, and just checking in and seeing what teams are
thinking about doing so we can line up our coverage and how we want to go about it and who
we want to focus on,” he revealed.
Adding one or two strong hitters is a possibility — they could join the bottom of the lineup or come off the bench. The Padres haven’t received much production from catchers or left fielders this year, and they could trade for either position.
Baseball pundits
think Red Sox outfielder Jarron Duran would be a good fit in left — if the Padres don’t have to give up too much in return.
Growing talent
The Padres are also planning for the future.
With the 25th overall pick in the MLB Draft July 13, the Padres drafted a high schooler for the ninth consecutive year —
Kruz Schoolcraft
, a 6’8” left-hander from Oregon who isn’t a shabby hitter either.
The team has until July 28 to sign Schoolcraft away from his commitment to the University of Tennessee.
Also on the first day of the draft, San Diego took outfielder
Ryan Wideman
out of Western
Kentucky University in the third round. The team didn’t have a second round pick.
In the fourth and fifth rounds, the Padres selected right-handed pitcher Michael Salina out of St. Bonaventure University in New York and catcher Ty Harvey from Inspiration Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
Highlights from the first half
The Padres’ best player so far this year has been third baseman Manny Machado, whose .292 batting average is 17th among MLB players. He also has 17 home runs and 56 RBIs.
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On July 7, Machado became just the fifth active player and 297th player ever to reach 2,000 career hits — more than 950 which have come in San Diego, where he signed as a free agent in 2019.
Achieving the milestone puts him in impressive company. Only five other players to wear a Padres uniform notched 2,000-plus hits during their careers: Tony Gwynn, Steve Garvey, Graig Nettles, Garry Templeton and Mike Piazza.
The other superstar on the 2025 roster, Fernando Tatis Jr., hasn’t performed as well as usual this season, and has beeen mired in a slump in recent weeks to boot. The right fielder has a .269 batting average with 16 homers and 42 RBIs.
That was still good enough to make the All-Star team. In all, the Padres sent five players to Atlanta — the
same number
of players the Dodgers sent, and two more than the Giants.
Tatis Jr. and pitchers Adrian Morejon, Robert Suárez and Jason Adam received All-Star bids, and Machado started the game at third.
Let’s make no mention, though, of the two batters Morejón put on base in the seventh inning before the Giants’ Randy Rodriguez, a fellow reliever in the NL West, gave up a three-run shot.
