Perfect NL East trade chip could give Padres the starter they need

The Padres will have three vacant openings in their 2026 starting rotation with the likely departures of Dylan Cease and Michael King, along with Yu Darvish being sidelined for the entirety of the season recovering from Tommy John Surgery.

A.J. Preller has acknowledged many times that starting pitching will be the top need addressed this offseason, and that they will attack it hard via free agency or trade.

Padres should test Mets’ resolve with bold Kodai Senga trade push

Tim Britton of The Athletic entertained the idea of the Padres cracking a deal with one of the National League’s most disappointing teams this past season, missing the playoffs despite having the league’s second largest payroll.

We’re talking about the New York Mets, who started off 45–23 but endured one of the biggest regular season collapses in recent memory. The team expects to contend next season, but one of their starting pitchers could be finding a new home elsewhere.

Kodai Senga made his MLB debut in 2023, tossed 166.1 innings, a 2.98 ERA, and collected 202 strikeouts, earning an All-Star selection in his inaugural season. But an injury-riddled 2024, followed by a falloff in production in 2025, there are rumors out there that the Mets could move off of the 32-year-old. Afterall, New York saw the trio of Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong, and Brandon Sproat all make their debuts this season.

With two years and $28 million remaining on his contract, Britton connected seven teams to Senga, including the Padres, talking about how it could be a perfect fit. “The San Diego Padres could use a cost-controlled starter and have plenty of bullpen depth,” Britton wrote.

Adding Senga would be a solid because it wouldn’t be too expensive to bring him in, and he would be the perfect guy to complement Nick Pivetta, who placed sixth in the 2025 NL Cy Young Award voting.

The Padres are set to undergo a lot of change ahead of 2026, and if they want to contend this season, Preller needs to be proactive and make moves. This would be a perfect way to jumpstart the offseason for San Diego.