Petco Park was full.
The mood was upbeat.
But beneath the noise of FanFest, the Padres quietly revealed how unfinished this roster really is.
With spring training just over a week away, General Manager A.J. Preller didn’t pretend the work was done. In fact, his list of needs sounded longer than many fans expected at this stage of the calendar.
Starting pitching.
A bat — maybe multiple bats.
A bench that still needs shape.
That’s not a tune usually sung this close to camp.
Preller framed the situation calmly, almost casually, noting that the front office is still actively searching for ways to “round out” the roster.
He pointed to past late-winter additions, like Nick Pivetta, as proof that patience can pay off. And historically, Preller has earned some benefit of the doubt.
Still, timing matters.
When a team openly acknowledges multiple roster holes days before pitchers and catchers report, it creates a quiet tension — especially for a Padres club that believes its championship window is very much open.
The departure of Luis Arraez only sharpened that feeling.
With Arraez now in San Francisco, first base became the most immediate question mark. New manager Craig Stammen addressed it directly, naming Gavin Sheets as the current frontrunner for the position.
Sheets was one of last season’s pleasant surprises, launching 19 home runs while splitting time between the outfield and designated hitter. His bat plays.
His power is real. But penciling him in at first base is less about certainty and more about opportunity.
And opportunity can cut both ways.
If Sheets locks down first, the designated hitter spot becomes fluid — intentionally so. Stammen described it as a rotating rest stop for the Padres’ stars: Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, Fernando Tatis Jr., Ramon Laureano, Jackson Merrill. A strategic approach meant to keep legs fresh and bats active.
It’s smart roster management.
It’s also a quiet admission that durability remains a concern.
This Padres team doesn’t lack stars. It lacks margin. Everything works only if those stars stay healthy, productive, and present. The DH plan isn’t about depth — it’s about survival over 162 games.
Which brings the conversation back to the one voice that seemed most confident all weekend.
Fernando Tatis Jr.
While Preller talked needs and Stammen talked flexibility, Tatis talked ceilings — or the absence of them.
“My best years are definitely ahead of me,” he said. “This year is going to be one of those. There’s no limit.”
It wasn’t bravado. It wasn’t marketing. It sounded like belief.
Tatis was already an All-Star last season, but he believes mechanical adjustments have unlocked something more. If that’s true, the Padres’ entire outlook shifts. An MVP-level Tatis doesn’t just elevate the lineup — he masks imperfections elsewhere.
That may be the unspoken strategy here.
The Padres don’t need perfection if their stars overwhelm the league. They need just enough support to let the core do what it’s capable of doing. That’s why the missing pieces feel so urgent — and so delicate.
Add the wrong bat, and the balance shifts.
Miss on starting pitching, and the season gets thin fast.
Rely too heavily on internal optimism, and there’s no safety net.
FanFest offered energy and belief, but it also exposed how narrow the Padres’ path still is. Preller knows it. Stammen knows it. The roster reflects it.
And while confidence from Tatis provides hope, hope alone isn’t roster construction.
The next few weeks will determine whether this team enters spring training with clarity — or with questions that linger longer than they should.
Because one thing is already clear: the Padres are close.
But close, in this window, might not be close enough.
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