Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. keep Padres in spotlight with exec-voted honors

Baseball’s power brokers just issued a loud reminder about who still matters in October conversations, and the San Diego Padres were part of that message. In votes cast by league executives across both circuits, a handful of headliners were unanimous selections. Proof that, for all the noise of a 162-game season, certain stars still cut through with the people who build rosters for a living. It wasn’t a popularity contest or a fan-driven surge; this was the sport’s decision-makers circling names that move the needle when it counts.

That same lens put San Diego right where it wants to be: in the thick of the league’s talent conversation. The executives’ ballots featured the 2025 season’s usual giants — Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh and Yankees outfielder/DH Aaron Judge landed on every single AL ballot, and Dodgers DH Shohei Ohtani did the same in the NL. But the Padres got what they needed most: validation of their core and exec-voted honors. Two faces of the franchise, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado, were singled out for those honors as emblematic of a club that still profiles as dangerous when the games get heavy.

The Sporting News spotlights Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr with NL All-Star team honors

For Tatis, the case is as much volume as it is shape. Across a career-high 155 games, he delivered a .268/.368/.446 slash line while toggling between impact outfield defense and run-creation at the top and heart of the order. That’s not a one-week heater; that’s sustained presence. The on-base lift was especially important for a lineup that needed traffic to win close games, and the blend of athleticism and zone control reminded everyone how quickly a Tatis plate appearance can tilt an inning.

Machado’s value looked different but landed just as loudly with the execs: stability plus thump. Even in a year that was a slight dip from 2024, he led San Diego in home runs (27) and RBIs (95) and answered the bell for 159 games, slashing .275/.335/.460 for a postseason club. When front offices judge, they factor reliability right alongside raw production, and Machado checked both boxes.

There’s history behind this style of recognition, too. The game has been assembling year-end “first teams” for a century; as far back as November 19, 1925, combined AL/NL first and second squads chosen by 102 members of the BBWAA appeared in the weekly “Bible of Baseball,” spotlighting future Hall of Famers long before Cooperstown even opened its doors. Today’s executive-voted lists nod to that tradition while filtering it through a modern front-office perspective — tools, performance, durability, and winning context, not just highlight reels.

So yes, the unanimous headliners, Raleigh, Judge, Ohtani, earned their shine. But the takeaway for San Diego is more practical: the core remains credible in the rooms that decide trades, contracts, and October matchups.

With Tatis stretching the field and getting on base and Machado anchoring production while showing up every day, the Padres’ identity stays intact, and the league’s power brokers just stamped it as such.