While the 2024 season culminated in the hated Dodgers winning the World Series, San Diego Padres fans can at least take solace in the fact that this offseason should be a fun one. There is certainly going to be some intrigue on the Padres’ side, with Ha-Seong Kim’s future up in the air and no guarantee that Jurickson Profar will return after his career 2024 season. Oh, and former Padres star Juan Soto is gunning for a truly insane contract, which will be fun to watch.
However, the offseason is a bit more complex that just “players become free agents and then teams try to sign them”. There are a number of deadlines and events that often dictate the ebb and flow of things, and we’re here to help you make sense of all of it.
Important MLB Offseason Dates that Padres fans need to know
Not every date and event during the offseason holds the same importance for every fan. However, they all play key roles in understanding why teams make the moves they do, and making sense of it all is often easier said than done. Below are many of the important dates that Padres fans need to keep an eye on as the offseason progresses.
Qualifying offer deadline – November 4, 2024
This one isn’t overly likely to impact the Padres immediately, as they do not have any surefire candidates among their free agents to receive the QO (unless things get really spicy with Jurickson Profar.) Qualifying offers must be given within five days of the end of the World Series, and the amount of the QO this year sits at $21.05 million. In the outside event that the Padres do sign a player that received a qualifying offer, they would lose their second-highest draft pick in 2025.
Exclusive negotiating window with pending free agents – Five days after World Series (ends November 4)
The Padres could make some news early in the offseason, as the five days after the World Series marks an exclusive negotiating window for teams to try and strike a deal with their free agents.
While the Padres do have some other free agents, this is again where San Diego fans need to circle Profar’s name. Profar has already expressed a desire to stay with the Padres, and if the two sides can’t come to an agreement, that would be a big sign that Profar’s time in San Diego may have come to an end.
Deadline to accept or reject qualifying offers – November 19, 2024
Again, not something that should impact the Padres too much at first. However, it is worth knowing that after the qualifying offer deadline, players who received QOs have 15 days (so November 19 this year) to accept or reject those offers. Accepting means they will sign the one year, $21.05 million deal, and rejecting sends them to free agency with the QO attached.
Non-tender deadline – November 22, 2024
Right after the QO decisions are finalized, we have the deadline to non-tender (aka not offer a contract) to arbitration-eligible players. The Padres’ arbitration class doesn’t have any huge names that are likely to be non-tendered, but it wouldn’t be shocking to see Luis Campusano get non-tendered, given how rough his 2024 was.
MLB Winter Meetings – December 8-11, 2024
The Winter Meetings used to be when much of the wheeling and dealing happened during the MLB offseason. However, that has changed in recent years, as free agency has bled more and more into the new year (and even spring training, in some cases). However, you can fully expect some intriguing offseason updates from AJ Preller at the Winter Meetings at minimum, and it wouldn’t be shocking to see some signings or trades go down.
Exchange of arbitration figures – January 9, 2025
Once the Padres decide who they are going to tender contracts to among their arbitration players, the next step in the arbitration process happens on January 9. Teams and players have up until then to agree on contract terms for 2025. If the two sides can’t agree, then each side files what they think said player should be paid, and an arbitrator will decide which figure they will play for, unless an agreement is reached before that.
International signing period opens up – January 15, 2025
The Padres have made a lot of hay in the international market the last couple of years, as they signed the two top players in 2023 and 2024 in Ethan Salas and Leo De Vries. It doesn’t sound like the Padres are in play to sign the top player in the 2025 IFA class, shortstop Josuar De Jesus Gonzalez, this time, but it is a near certainty that the Padres will add some impact prospects from the international market once the signing period gets started in January.
