3 San Diego Padres who won't be back next year after playoff exit

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Another season of San Diego Padres baseball has come to a close. Though they suffered some injuries that would have destabilized most teams, San Diego was able to pull together some gritty postseason wins, highlighted by an upset of the hated Dodgers in the NLDS.

The front office has San Diego positioned to fight the Dodgers for NL West (and potentially National League) supremacy over the last few years. With a lineup featuring names like Juan Soto and Manny Machado on a regular basis, the Padres figure to replicate their success from this season in the immediate future.

Unfortunately, not everyone that is currently on the roster will be around to see the Padres turn into potential pennant winners. Some contributors from the 2022 squad will inevitably have to be jettisoned for either competitive or financial reasons.

These three Padres players gave it their all in 2022, but Bob Melvin and A.J. Preller would be well within their rights to move on after this season. Be it age, poor performance, or the team’s current depth chart, don’t expect to see this trio in brown and gold.

3 San Diego Padres who won’t return in 2023

3. SP Sean Manaea

Preller didn’t give up a ton to get Manaea from Oakland, as Adrian Martinez had a 6.24 ERA in 12 MLB starts and Euribiel Angeles had a .278 average with minimal power for the A-ball Lansing Lugnuts. While relatively low risk due to his contract situation, Manaea was not great during his first season in Southern California.

Manaea posted an ERA just a few ticks under 5.00 in a pitcher-friendly season, giving him unsightly marks of -0.8 bWAR, 4.53 FIP, and 75 ERA+. His walks were up and his strikeouts were down, which will make it tough for GMs around the league to get excited about him. Stinking in the NLCS didn’t help his case.

Will the San Diego Padres retain the struggling Sean Manaea?

Though Mike Clevinger is also a free agent, he will likely be retained. The top three of ace Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, and Blake Snell appear to be set in stone. The Padres have more than enough depth to where losing Manaea in free agency won’t hurt them too much.

Manaea’s Oakland teams had some success, so this isn’t a case of him losing focus on a contendign team. For whatever reason, the southpaw never got into a groove in San Diego. Manaea needs to go somewhere where they will give him a long leash in order to get back on track, and the Padres aren’t that place right now.

PHOENIX, ARIZONA – APRIL 10: Relief pitcher Craig Stammen #34 of the San Diego Padres (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

2. RP Craig Stammen

Stammen has had a fantastic career, putting up a 3.66 ERA and appearing in 562 games in 13 seasons with the Padres and Washington Nationals. Having said that, Father Time is starting to gradually win his battle against Stammen and his hard two-seamer, as this last season was below-average for someone of his caliber.

Stammen, who was left off the Wild Card roster, put up a 4.43 ERA, which is the second-worst mark he has amassed since the 2011 season with the Nats. Having become renowned for his ability to consistently throw strikes, seeing him post his highest walk rate per nine innings since 2012 was a bit concerning.

The San Diego Padres could part with Craig Stammen.

While it looked like the Padres were going to need every hand on deck to keep the bullpen afloat after Josh Hader’s horrendous start, he has since stabilized and returned to his old form. The farm system is not what it once was, but the pitching pipeline remains healthy.

Stammen can still pitch in the majors, but a team with eyes on a championship shouldn’t bend over backward to accommodate someone who will turn 39 in March and is coming off his worst season in years. Preller may replace him with a more high-end option available on the free agent market.

SAN DIEGO, CA – AUGUST 21: Brandon Drury #17 of the San Diego Padres (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images) /

1. UTIL Brandon Drury

Drury was having a career year with the Reds before being moved at the trade deadline, and he largely kept up his hot hitting with the Friars. Drury tallied 17 extra-base hits and 28 RBI in 46 games with the Padres, posting a 109 OPS+ while playing multiple positions.

If we had our druthers, Drury would stay in San Diego. Even with Fernando Tatis Jr. coming back next season and likely pushing either Jake Cronenworth or Ha-Seong Kim aside, Drury could be an invaluable utility guy in the postseason. Unfortunately, other teams may have a high opinion of him as well.

The San Diego Padres will face competition for Brandon Drury.

As excellent as Drury was last season, this power spike was uncharacteristic, given what he had done in seasons prior. This seems like the type of player that a struggling team gives a three-year contract to with the expectation that he’ll be a middle-of-the-order bat.

While the Padres have paid up for Machado and will give Soto a monstrous deal, they can’t overpay to keep everyone. Losing Drury would hurt, but fans should be confident in Preller’s ability to find a cheaper alternative to him on the market.

LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 25: Manager Dave Roberts #30 of the Los Angeles Dodgers speaks to the media during a news conference before the start of the game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Dodger Stadium on September 25, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

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3 San Diego Padres who won’t be back next year after playoff exit