San Diego Padres

When the San Diego Padres asked a 20-year-old infielder to switch positions during spring training, they were hoping it would work out. Jackson Merrill surpassed all expectations. Now, the Padres are looking ahead to two other young prospects. San Diego has two electric young prospects at perhaps its two biggest positions of need for 2025: catcher Ethan Salas (the Padres' No. 1 prospect, No. 19 overall) and shortstop Leodalis De Vries (Padres' No. 2, No. 28 overall) but will the organization push them through like Merill.

S1: Welcome in San Diego. It's Jade Hindman. Today we look back on the baseball career of Fernando Valenzuela. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. Though it's without the San Diego Padres , Major League Baseball's World Series is underway , and it features two legendary teams , the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers. But for the Dodgers , the excitement of nearing baseball's pinnacle came with sad news. Last week , former star pitcher Fernando Valenzuela passed away at the age of 63. Fernando , as he was affectionately known , rose to baseball superstardom in the early 80s , playing for the Dodgers. In later years , he played for several MLB

Will Venable has worked for the Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox and Texas Rangers since his playing career ended.

The San Francisco Giants are preparing for a very important offseason, as the franchise is now being led by Buster Posey as the President of Baseball Operations. After missing the playoffs for three straight years, ownership decided that it was time for a change and that Posey would be able to turn things around. It is not going to be an overnight fix for the Giants, as they have a few areas where they need to find improvements. Blake Snell will likely be declining his player option this offseason, as he will be one of the top pitchers on the market.

The St. Louis Cardinals likely are going to go bargain hunting this offseason. The 2025 Major League Baseball season will be a bridge year until Chaim Bloom takes over the organization as president of baseball operations after the campaign ends. Bloom will lead the team into the future and will spend 2025 rebuilding the farm system. St. Louis will be looking to cut payroll this winter, but they still will have to put together a roster for the season.

The Chicago White Sox have been working to secure their new manager for a while now, and it looks like they're zeroing in on a decision. According to Jesse Rogers at ESPN, the team is “getting closer” to finalizing their choice. Rogers also mentioned that two candidates have been ruled out of the race: Clayton McCullough, who serves as the Los Angeles Dodgers first base coach, and A.J. Ellis, a special assistant with the San Diego Padres. Major League Baseball insider Jon Heyman of the New York Post shared that Ellis stepped away from the White Sox managerial search on his own, citing family reasons.

Padres Notes: Friars Linked to Cy Young Winner, GM Looking to Finalize Huge Extension The top Padres news and headlines. Eva Geitheim | 9 Hours Ago Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Images In this story: San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres have been linked to former Cy Young award winning pitcher Shane Bieber, who won the award in 2020. The Padres are expected to be without Joe Musgrove for the entirety of the 2025 season after he underwent Tommy John surgery, which will make them a candidate to acquire a pitcher in free agency. Bieber also went Tommy John surgery in the 2024 season, but is projected to be back for the second half of the season. Padres general manager AJ Preller is looking to sign manager

The San Diego Padres season ended in the National League Division Series when the Los Angeles Dodgers beat them in Game 5. "Assuming the Padres do acquire Alonso, they will boast a lineup featuring Arraez, Tatis, Merrill, Alonso, and Machado (and Bogaerts if he can return to his Red Sox form)," wrote Mountz.

Less than a year and a half after giving up a massive haul of prospects to acquire Juan Soto from the Washington Nationals, the San Diego Padres reversed course and traded Soto away to the New York Yankees. The Padres sent Soto and Trent Grisham to the Yankees in exchange for Michael King, Drew Thorpe, Jhony Brito, Randy Vásquez, and Kyle Higashioka.

Here's a look at the top five MLB relief pitchers set to become free agents this winter.

The winter is coming and that means that free agency soon will be here as well. With free agency quickly approaching, it is easy to get lost and wonder which players could end up being on the move. The 2024 Major League Baseball season is nearing its end, and it will be almost as fun predicting and seeing movement this offseason as the season has been itself. It should be a wild offseason with plenty of movement, including some former members of the Boston Red Sox.

The San Francisco Giants desperately need to upgrade their bullpen and could do so with the the best closer in free agency, but it's going to cost them. MLB's upcoming group of free agents will feature a handful of interesting closers, but none are better than San Diego Padres star Tanner Scott. As Jim Bowden of The Athletic examined the top of free agency to find potential contract values and the most likely landing spots, the Giants were mentioned as a potential candidate to bring Scott in.

It was a frustrating end to the season for the Philadelphia Phillies, as they lost in the National League Division Series despite having World Series aspirations. While the year ended earlier than the Phillies would have liked in 2024, it was still a successful campaign and this was a very good team. In the lineup, Philadelphia received nothing from most of their outfield, as only Nick Castellanos was able to produce at the plate. While the lineup certainly had some letdowns, the bullpen also hurt the Phillies once again in the postseason.

The San Diego Padres fell short of advancing deep in the playoffs when they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Division Series, but the team is feeling optimistic about where they are headed going forward.

Roberts, who was the #1 overall draft pick by the San Diego Padres in 1972 out of the University of Oregon, never really panned out as the star infielder San Diego was hoping for. You have to go all the way to the third round to find a legitimate "star", those being Dennis Eckersley and Gary Carter.

The Los Angeles Dodgers will host the New York Yankees for Game 2 of the World Series Saturday. Here's what you need to know.

San Diego Padres starting shortstop Ha-Seong Kim missed the team's postseason run after undergoing season-ending surgery to address a tear in the labrum of his right shoulder. Kim is set to become a free agent after this season, which means he may have played his final game in a San Diego uniform.

Fans of the Cubs or Sox? You've more than likely cried over your team, a new study finds.

Shohei Ohtani’s 50/50 home run ball sold for $4,392,00 after a late bidding rally ran the auction past midnight to close early Wednesday morning and set a record for the most paid for a sports ball, according to Goldin Auctions, which hosted the event. The identity of the winner was not announced. Goldin Auctions posted …

The Padres said they expect Luis Arraez to begin an offseason hitting program in about eight weeks and to be at full strength by the start of spring training.

The Giants reportedly are promoting JP Martinez to San Francisco's pitching coach after Bryan Price's exit this offseason.

The Dodgers entered NLCS Game 2 looking practically unbeatable, but the New York Mets buried any notion of an easy series for L.A. with their 7-3 victory.

Dodgers Max Muncy, Will Smith and Miguel Rojas helped develop play-led changes to their approach to the postseason, helping forge a unified mindset.

As Major League Baseball’s final four take aim at the World Series starting on Sunday, playoff TV ratings are soaring thanks to big stars, memorable plays and unbridled fun

Although he missed two games in the NLDS after he sustained a left-adductor strain, Miguel Rojas said he will 'be ready to go' in Game 1 on Sunday.

The New York Mets announced that Kodai Senga will start Sunday's NLCS Game 1. The Los Angeles Dodgers are expected to start Jack Flaherty.

As the Dodgers embark on a quick turnaround for the NLCS, here are nine things to know about the Mets — and the concerns their upstart opponents might pose.

Cleveland and Detroit will play Game 5 of the MLB American League Division Series today to decide which team heads to the ALCS this weekend.

In ousting the rival Padres, the Dodgers showed they're more than just Shohei Ohtani — a fact that might just make them the team to beat.