Padres embrace 'unfinished business' as '25 dawns

PEORIA, Ariz. -- On Monday morning, the 2025 Padres assembled as a full squad for the first time -- and they quickly put to rest any lingering sentiment about the season that was.

"We start at zero," said Padres manager Mike Shildt. "We build off of last year. We know we did some things well last year, did a lot of things we consider to be successes. ... But also, like I alluded to, we have some unfinished business. We're going to start at zero."

Indeed, the Padres' reflections on 2024 are colored in a strange light. On some level, their season was unquestionably a success. Even after losing a handful of key players, they retooled their roster and won 93 games, the second-highest total in franchise history.

But the way it ended doesn¡¯t jibe with that. After pushing the rival Dodgers to the brink, the Padres dropped Games 4 and 5 of the National League Division Series and found themselves headed home earlier than they'd envisioned.

Now, it¡¯s onto 2025.

"Honestly, [the mindset] has got to be similar to last year," said right-hander Michael King. "I still think we're one of two teams that could've won the World Series last year. That Dodgers series was definitely a tough one to swallow. But we've still got a bunch of our core group of guys, and we're all hungry to come back.

"Then, you're adding guys ..."

And, as he spoke, King turned to his right and pointed to the locker next to his -- freshly adorned with a new nameplate. Monday morning, the Padres had finalized their four-year deal with veteran right-hander Nick Pivetta.

Pivetta¡¯s arrival at the Peoria Sports Complex served as a stark contrast to the rest of the Padres' offseason. Most of their winter was quiet. In a sort of loud way.

But as the new season dawned, they made moves to address a handful of their biggest areas of need, including the rotation.

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"Winning's 100 percent the most important thing," said Pivetta. "That's all I really care about. That's all I want to do. The way this team finished last year and what they did last year, it's really important for me to come here, try to contribute to that, follow this team in the direction they're going."

The arrival of Pivetta and other recent signings won¡¯t alleviate all of the question marks on the roster. The Padres lost their starting left fielder (Jurickson Profar, Braves), shortstop (Ha-Seong Kim, Rays) and catcher (Kyle Higashioka, Rangers) in free agency. They¡¯ll be without Joe Musgrove for the entirety of the season while he recovers from Tommy John surgery.

As always, San Diego's roster should be treated as a work in progress. General manager A.J. Preller made that especially clear last season, as he maneuvered throughout Spring Training and even into early May (when he traded for Luis Arraez). Nonetheless, the Padres are adamant they have a championship-caliber core already in place.

¡°This is where we start building relationships, this is where we start building the foundation to a long season,¡± said Manny Machado -- who acknowledged he¡¯s no longer feeling the effects of right elbow surgery he underwent last offseason. ¡°We know A.J. is going to continue to do his best to put the best possible team out there. He wants to win a championship and is going to do everything possible to do that. We're excited with the group of guys that's here now. We're ready to go out there and compete.¡±

On Monday, Machado was again asked about that agonizing NLDS loss -- particularly the spat between him and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. He quickly shrugged it off and made it clear his focus was on the year ahead.

"The past is the past," Machado said. "I'm looking forward to going out there and competing again this year and trying to take them down. We¡¯re ready.¡±

The Padres were oh-so-close to doing precisely that last October. Since then, the Dodgers have reloaded. They spent the winter as the talk of the baseball world. Then again, San Diego should know a thing or two about purportedly ¡°winning the offseason¡± and what it guarantees you.

So -- with the bulk of their core still in place, and with a ceiling they insist is as high as it¡¯s ever been -- the full-squad Padres began their work on the back fields at the Peoria Sports Complex on Monday.

¡°Like the first day of school,¡± Fernando Tatis Jr. said with a grin. "Everybody¡¯s hugging each other. Everybody's happy. Getting ready for this jungle -- all of us together."