Qualifying offer decisions wipe multiple Padres free agent targets off the board

The 4 p.m. deadline on Nov. 18 for players to accept the $22.025 million qualifying offer has officially passed, with four players agreeing to it, as well as nine who chose to decline it. While the Padres didn’t extend the qualifying offer to anyone set to hit the open market, some of their top targets accepted theirs.

This checkpoint in the offseason most definitely threw off the Padres’ plans in free agency, as a pair of targets this winter chose to accept the one-year offer, those two being Shota Imanaga and Gleyber Torres.

Padres’ list of realistic upgrades narrows after wave of accepted qualifying offers

Let’s start off with Imanaga, who appeared on the Padres’ radar after he declined his player option that was triggered by Chicago’s initial decision. In 2025, the 32-year-old southpaw saw a decline in production in year two, posting an ERA nearly a full point higher than the year prior. He also had the tendency to give up a ton of fly balls, which led to home runs. Wrigley Field is known as one of the more pitcher-friendly ballparks in baseball, meaning Imanaga’s stats would have most likely been worse elsewhere.

As for Gleyber Torres, we believe he would’ve been a potential free agent target for San Diego, as the departures of Luis Arráez and Ryan O’Hearn could’ve forced second baseman Jake Cronenworth to make the transition back to first, leaving a hole in the middle of the infield. In 2025, Torres slashed .256/.358/.387 with 16 home runs. Playing in San Diego, where the ball tends to fly, would have been ideal for the team.

With both Imanaga and Torres accepting the qualifying offer, president of baseball operations A.J. Preller will need to rethink his plans for the open positions on the roster. Perhaps these recent signings give Preller the incentive to re-sign guys like Luis Arráez, as it could be the cheapest option with the most upside.