5 players who are entering their final days on the Padres roster

The 2024 season is winding down and the San Diego Padres are in a really good spot the rest of the way. They are finally at basically full strength — outside of Ha-Seong Kim's absence — with the team finally getting Fernando Tatis Jr. back from his stress reaction and Yu Darvish from the restricted list.

However, this is also the time of year when fans start looking ahead to the offseason and what changes could be coming down the pipe. For most, that means wondering what new toys the Padres will add during the offseason, but there is also the question as to who San Diego could have to move on from for one reason or another.

Here are the players whose time with the Padres is winding down

The goal here isn't to look at every pending free agent or non-tender decision the Padres may have to make. That would frankly be exhausting, boring, and probably premature as injuries and a deep playoff run could change things dramatically.

Instead, here is a look at some of the key players or at least recognizable ones who, if current trends hold, could be reaching the end of their tenures with the Padres.

Luis Campusano

We'll start with a spicy one. The Padres have three catchers on their big league roster and the only one with any team control beyond this season is Campusano, so cutting bait with him is no sure thing. However, the Padres signing Elias Diaz in the first place happened because Campusano has struggled mightily in 2024 on both sides of the ball. We're betting that the Padres look to bring back Kyle Higashioka and either re-sign Diaz or turn to other external options instead of tendering Campusano a contract.

David Peralta

This move is far less surprising. Peralta has been a valuable stopgap with Tatis Jr. out. He's had some big moments with the Padres. However, he is also 37 years old and way past his prime. Depending on how the Padres handle their DH spot in 2025, there could be an opportunity either in left field or at designated hitter assuming the Padres bring Jurickson Profar back (they should). However, even as a bench bat, the Padres probably need to get more utility (defense, pinch-running) from that spot instead of letting Peralta sit around doing next to nothing if he decides to play next year.

Donovan Solano

Solano being a pending free agent kind of stinks because he has been pretty good with the Padres this season. In fact, his success with San Diego in 2024 may be the biggest reason why he isn't likely to return. Bats like Solano's that have real upside and won't break the bank are very appealing in the offseason, especially for budget-conscious teams. With the path to playing time with the Pads looking rather unclear for Solano next season, it feels like he is going to parlay this season into a nice, but not overwhelming deal elsewhere.

Martin Perez

The Padres traded for Perez at the deadline with one specific purpose: to simply hold down the fort in the rotation until San Diego's starters got healthy. He has done that and more — he has a 2.84 ERA in his seven starts since the trade. However, his track record in recent years is very suspect in terms of relying upon him for a full season. If he wants to sign back with the Padres on a cheap one-year deal to have some rotation depth, then sure ... come on back. However, we're betting that the Padres won't do more than that and he will find a new home on the free agent market.

Ha-Seong Kim

Kim's future got a bit more less defined this year as his production took a dip and he got hurt in August. However, most thought before the season that he was very likely to opt out of his deal with the Padres after 2024, and that still feels pretty likely. He is only set to make $7 million in 2025 if he opts into his deal. Despite the diminished production in 2024, he will almost certainly beat that on the open market. The Padres love him, but they also have a ton of infielders, so if Kim generates a lot of interest (and he will), another team would probably be willing to pay him more.

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