Padres waiting game is starting to feel reckless with a power bat still available

If the Padres are really going to treat 2026 like a serious season, the “wait it out and hope the market comes to us” approach is getting harder to defend. Especially with Rhys Hoskins still sitting there as one of the cleanest power-and-patience fits left on the board. He’s not perfect. But he’s available, and that’s kind of the point.

The frustrating part is the Padres’ needs aren’t subtle. They need power. A right-handed bat that can punish mistakes, take walks, and keep the lineup from feeling like it has to play perfect baseball every night to score four runs. Hoskins checks that box more than most of the leftover options — even coming off a 2025 that was chopped up by injuries and inconsistency. 

Padres’ anxious offseason stall is daring the market with Rhys Hoskins still out there

And yes, the market has been quiet. That’s exactly why this is starting to feel reckless. When the market stalls, that’s when you pounce on the one-year “prove it” types before they become someone else’s low-risk upside play. There’s already been plenty of industry-level chatter about where he could land (including the idea of a short deal), because that’s what this offseason is shaping up to be for him. 

From the Padres’ side, the first base/DH conversation has turned into a weird game of musical chairs. Jake Cronenworth can cover first, but asking him to be the answer there is more “making it work” than “solving it.” And while names like Luis Arráez or Carlos Santana get floated for different reasons, Hoskins is the one sitting in the sweet spot: real pop, real on-base ability, and a profile that plays in October when at-bats get mean. (Even AJ Cassavell has straight-up mentioned him as a “useful 1B/DH bat” target for San Diego this winter.) 

They need Hoskins to be a pressure release valve — the kind of bat that turns “two on, two out” into actual damage instead of another stranded rally. In 2025, the line was basically league-average offense (109 wRC+) in limited time, with the walks still showing up and the ball still getting lifted and pulled when he was right. 

If the Padres keep acting like there will be a better, cleaner power option later… they might look up and realize the only thing left is excuses. And that’s exactly how you stumble into a season.