Friars on Base

Magic numbers are supposed to take some anxiety off the final month of the baseball season. However, the Padres’ number is a bit scary. As of September 11, San Diego’s playoff magic number sits at 17. The Padres have 16 games remaining. They are 78-68 and occupy the final NL Wild Card spot by half a game over the Arizona Diamondbacks. A half-game lead barely qualifies as one. Basically, the Padres have the seat today because Arizona has not taken it yet. One bad night can change the equation.

One game without Ohtani may be the only favor September gives San Diego. ByTremayne Person|Sep 10, 2026, 10:15 PM EDT Sep 8, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) looks on from the dugout prior in the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect The Padres pretty much got one guarantee from Shohei Ohtani’s IL stint.

Craig Stammen had the right answer before he left the Padres’ dugout Wednesday. We know that Walker Buehler runs hot, so naturally, he argued. Stammen blinked and an MLB rule had to make the decision for him. It’s a strange managerial sequence that has happened several times this season. The Padres aren’t the only team to get turned around by MLB’s mound-visit rule. The Padres trailed the Nationals 2-0 in the third inning.

The last series may decide everything. The series before it may make it meaningless. ByDavid Lesky|Sep 10, 2026, 10:02 AM EDT Sep 6, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (23), right, and pitcher Mason Miller (22) celebrate after the Padres beat the New York Yankees at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect The baseball season turns from a marathon to a sprint after Labor Day, and the sprint has begun.

Trevor Gott cannot pitch for the Padres in October. It might be part of the point of this signing. The Padres added the 34-year-old righty to a minor-league contract Tuesday and assigned him to Triple-A El Paso. Because Gott joined the organization after the Aug. 31 postseason eligibility deadline, even an injury-replacement petition can’t open a spot for him on the playoff roster. But still, A.J. Preller may have found someone who can help protect the weapons they already have.

The San Diego Padres have the fifth-best bullpen in baseball, posting a 3.46 ERA as a unit. A big part of this success comes from setup man Adrian Morejon, who has a 2.86 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 96 strikeouts across 78 2/3 innings this season. Yeah, good thing he wasn't traded at the deadline. Morejon, 27, will hit the open market this offseason as a free agent. The Padres would be wise to retain him in order to keep their dominant bullpen intact.

For more than a year, the Mason Miller blockbuster has been a consistent baseball argument nobody needed to win. The Padres got the shutdown closer. The A’s got Leo De Vries, a teenage shortstop who looks every bit of a franchise staple. Both organizations made a move best suited for the state they were in. What has normally been a clean “win-win” verdict cracked a bit this week. De Vries will undergo surgery on Sept. 18 to repair a torn anterior labrum in his right shoulder.

A loud part of the story was told before the game between the San Diego Padres and Washington Nationals even started on Monday. Manny Machado, Padres third baseman, showed up with a platinum fade, which is probably fair to say was not something anyone was expecting to see. But by the end of a 3-2 win over the Nationals to keep them a half-game back in the Wild Card chase, nobody was complaining.

The Padres entered Sept. 8 sitting at 76-68, only a half-game outside the final NL Wild Card spot. Every arm in the organization needs to serve a purpose at this point in the season. J.P. France and José Leclerc were no longer clearing that bar. Both right-handers were released from Triple-A El Paso on Sept. 7. Neither occupied a spot on the 40-man roster, so this wasn’t a big roster shakeup in the clubhouse. It was the Padres cleaning out emergency pitching options they knew they couldn’t trust.

The Padres’ decision to DFA Blake Hunt could pass as a routine September transaction. But if you look a little closer, it showed just how quickly Ethan Salas changed the organization’s catching hierarchy. San Diego had two separate spots to clear when it activated Nick Pivetta from the 60-day IL. Jhony Brito was optioned to Triple-A for the active-roster opening. Hunt was DFA’d to create room on the 40-man roster. It was a rough ending for Hunt, who did plenty to earn more consideration.