Padres Power Taking Hold in NL West, Shrinking Dodgers Division Lead

What the deuce is going on with the San Diego Padres?

Check out MLB’s standings. Prior to Friday’s games, 25 games were completed on the 2026 season schedule, and the Padres were hanging neck-and-neck with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West. By percentage points, San Diego trails Los Angeles in second place. Both clubs are 17-8. While the Dodgers begin a six-game homestand, they are welcoming the Chicago Cubs to Chavez Ravine for three games.

Odd as it may seem, the Padres have a rare Friday off during the regular season. In fact, the club is out of the country. Along with the Arizona Diamondbacks, San Diego is in Mexico City for a two-game jaunt, beginning on Saturday, as part of MLB’s World Tour.

Coming up against one of the hottest clubs in the game today, as San Diego is the winner of 12 of their last 14 games, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo isn’t giving the impression he’s intimidated by his opponents in Mexico.

On Thursday, speaking with MLB.com, Lovullo’s comments for Friday and Saturday’s games focused solely on the experience of being south of the border.

“There’s a great baseball culture down there,” said Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo.

“I played winter ball in Mexico a couple times, and I just have nothing but great memories about going down there and playing in front of passionate fans. So I’m eager for us to do it.”

Whereas Lovullo apparently is sticking to a plan of not addressing the team’s success early in this season, it’s difficult to ignore the comings and goings of a club that began the season under the radar of most fans and media outlets.

Aside from living out of their suitcases during a 10-day road trip that ends after Sunday’s 1:05 p.m. PDT start in Mexico City, the biggest news for the Padres’ future is that they will soon have new majority owners.

Jose Feliciano, co-founder and managing partner at Clearlake Capital, a private equity firm, and his wife, Kwanza Jones, won the bidding process for a reported $3.9 billion purchase price.  The sale is expected to go through during mid-season.

This would be the highest price ever paid for an MLB club. In 2020, the New York Mets were purchased for a reported $2.4 billion by Steve Cohen. Now, with the deepest of pockets among all 30 clubs, will the Padres increase their payroll and chase prized free agents?

According to USA Today last month, the Padres had the eighth-highest MLB team payroll for 2026—$224,833,996. San Diego’s third baseman, Manny Machado, weighed in with USA Today Sports Weekly on having high expectations for his team, saying they can compete with any club for any player they might be interested in.

“I think they kind of want to follow Peter’s legacy,” Padres All-Star third baseman Manny Machado told reporters. “If you’re bidding that high, it kind of tells you everything about what you want for the organization.”

On Wednesday, the Padres added depth to their starting rotation by signing free agent Lucas Giolito. The right-hander was signed to just under $2.8 million guaranteed, per the Associated Press. After ramping up his arm strength in the minors, Giolito, 31, will be a welcome addition to San Diego’s freshman manager Craig Stammen’s rotation.

Pitcher Yu Darvish is out of action this season, placed on the unpaid restricted list after undergoing UCL surgery. Opening Day starter Nick Pivetta is on the sidelines due to a right elbow strain, and fellow starter Joe Musgrove continues rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.

But, with Michael King remaining in the starting rotation and closer Mason Miller, who came over from the Athletics in a trade last July, San Diego is finding a way to win. Miller has recorded 27 strikeouts in only 12.1 innings. His nine saves in 12 games cement his stake as the game’s most dominant relief arm in MLB.

Toss in a lineup that includes Machado, Jake Cronenworth, Jackson Merrill, Fernando Tatis Jr., and newly acquired Nick Castellanos, and it’s a stretch that the Dodgers aren’t scoreboard watching as each Padres game is taking place. Even Los Angeles’ skipper Dave Roberts seems to want to paint a picture that he and his club aren’t concerned with the Padres’ hot start.

Speaking on Thursday to Si.com, Roberts’s best poker face was evident when assessing his division rival’s early success in 2026.

“I just don’t think we really concern ourselves with anyone, to be quite honest,” Roberts said.

“And I think that’s the way we should think of this. It’s no disrespect to any team. It’s just we go to kind of keep our closet clean and just play good baseball, and it’ll take care of itself.”

So far this season, San Diego is second in attendance among all 30 clubs, trailing the Dodgers. The back and forth among these two clubs will make for wonderful excitement for baseball fans this season, especially for those in California.