Three Padres free agents who won’t be brought back
It’s very likely the Padres won’t look the same in 2025 but where will it look different?
According to Spotrac, the Padres have 13 free agents—which now includes Logan Gillaspie, Luis Patiño, Bryce Johnson and Mason McCoy after they were non-tendered by the club this past week.
Today let’s focus on three free agents who I predict won’t return to the squad in 2025.
Ha-Seong Kim
Kim is currently rehabbing from his labrum surgery that he had while the Padres were in the postseason. He’s expected to return between mid-April and early May.
That obviously means San Diego needs a shortstop for Opening Day if it’s not going to be Xander Bogaerts and it’s not even a guarantee Kim will come back and have a 2023-caliber season, which is what the Padres would likely be paying for.
Kim hired Scott Boras to represent him, which doesn’t make me feel great about Kim returning. Why would he bring Boras in if he’s just looking for a pillow deal to return back to San Diego?
It sure feels like there will be other teams who’d be willing to give him more guaranteed money and perhaps more years than the Padres considering FanGraphs projects their luxury tax payroll to be at $244+ million right now.
Milwaukee and San Francisco have reportedly shown interest already.
