Projection says Padres will spend nearly $25 million on arbitration-eligible players in 2026

The Padres’ seven arbitration-eligible players are in line to make $24.4 million in 2026, according to MLBTradeRumors.com.

That group is led by reliever Jason Adam projected to make $6.8 million in his last year before reaching free agency. Reliever Adrián Morejón will also be in his final year of team control and projected to make $3.6 million.

Gavin Sheets will begin 2026 with just over four years of service time and is projected to make $4.3 million, while pitcher JP Sears and catcher Luis Campusano will have three years of service time and are projected to make $3.5 million and $1 million, respectively.

Players eligible for arbitration have between three and six years of arbitration. Salary arbitration is also offered to players between two and three years of service time who rank in the top 22% of their class in service time and MLBTradeRumors.com projects that both reliever Mason Miller and Freddy Fermin will get that designation this offseason.

Miller is projected to make $3.4 million in his first year of arbitration and Fermin is projected to make $1.8 million.

The Padres have not actually gone to arbitration since Andrew Cashner in 2014, as A.J. Preller, president of baseball operations, often gets deals done before figures are exchanged.

This year was the closest as the Padres and Michael King were not able to agree on a deal before the Jan. 9 deadline. The two sides later agreed to a deal to avoid arbitration.