The Padres are for sale and seem to be improving on that. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that the field of potential buyers has been narrowed from five to four and that the process could end in April. Both Acee and Jeff Passan of ESPN report that the sale price is expected to exceed $3 billion.
The Seidler family announced in November that they would pursue selling the franchise. At the time, it appeared that a family feud might derail those efforts, but a report in February revealed that some of the legal issues had been resolved and that five potential buyers had submitted applications. It seems that one of the groups has been excluded from the bidding, although Acee does not specify who is out and who is still in.
If the price really exceeds three billion dollars, that could easily set a new benchmark. The highest selling price of an MLB franchise to date is the $2.4 billion that Steve Cohen dropped to buy the Mets in 2020.
Turning to the list, it seems that is possible Joe Musgrove will start the season on the injured list. The righty is looking to return to the mound after Tommy John surgery ended his 2025 season. It was reported three days ago that Musgrove was being slowly brought into the camp. Acee reported yesterday that Musgrove had not thrown in the last few days. He pitched three innings in an exhibition game on March 4 but did not recover as expected and has thrown one bullpen session since then.
The Padres say they are being careful, and so is the manager Craig Stammen which he refers to as a “holding pattern” and a “pause” for Musgrove as they confirm that he is ready to move on to the next step. “I’m just waiting for us to get over that mound, feel better before we start doing anything on the field,” Stammen said. “But we are in a good place, something we knew was going to happen, we had to prepare for it. We have his best interest.”
Even if nothing serious happens, Opening Day is two weeks away, so each day without progress increases the odds of an IL stint. The Padres are scheduled to open the season with Michael King, Nick Pivetta again Randy Vásquez in three rotation positions. Acee the pins German Marquez again Walker Buehler as the favorites for the last two places, it is assumed that Musgrove beats IL. Márquez is already on the 40-man roster but Buehler doesn’t have a spot yet. He can opt out of his contract at the end of camp if he doesn’t have one.
Whatever the Friars do on Opening Day will be temporary. Musgrove will return to the mix at some point. Matt Waldron she is late due to hemorrhoid surgery but she is growing now. He is expected to start the season in the IL but should not miss much time. He’s out of options so the Friars will either have to find a spot for him on the active roster or move him off the 40-man roster. Griffin Canning will also look to rejoin the rotation at some point, probably a few weeks later than Musgrove and Waldron.
on the field, Sung Mun Song tries to fix the skewed right problem. He could open the season on the injured list, which would open up a bench spot for someone Is Wagner. Unfortunately, Acee reports that Wagner is suffering from some type of oblique and has not done any baseball work since the beginning of March. He will likely join Song in IL to start the year. That would increase the chances of someone like him France or Mason McCoy to find an Opening Day spot.
Like Buehler, France can opt out of his contract at the end of camp if he is not included in the 40-man roster. The Friars opened the scoring this week in defense Daison Acosta but they will need one more if they select both Buehler and France. That won’t be difficult. Yu Darvish again Bryan Hoeing both are expected to miss the 2026 season due to surgery and neither has been submitted to the 60-day IL so far.
Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images
