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Padres 2026: Baseball's Wildest Experiment
13 Mar
Summary
- Padres aim for 95 wins in 2026, building on 90-win 2025 season.
- Nick Castellanos joins Tatis and Machado for explosive offense.
- Padres.TV is the primary broadcast home for local fans in 2026.
The San Diego Padres enter the 2026 season as a captivating experiment in controlled chaos, aiming to surpass their 90-win, second-place finish from 2025. This year's roster balances star power with volatility, featuring Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado, now joined by Nick Castellanos, who departed the Philadelphia Phillies.
The team's primary broadcast home remains Padres.TV for San Diego-area fans, with 10 games also available for free over-the-air on CBS 8 and The CW San Diego. For those outside the local market, MLB.TV is necessary for regional broadcasts, with various subscription options available, including bundles with ESPN Unlimited for out-of-market games.
National broadcasts offer diverse viewing opportunities. ESPN will air 30 regular-season exclusives, while Fox features "Baseball Night in America" Saturdays and the NL playoffs. Apple TV+ hosts "Friday Night Baseball," including a key Padres vs. Dodgers matchup on June 26. NBC and Peacock take over "Sunday Night Baseball," with some exclusive Peacock games, launching March 26.
MLB Network continues its "Showdown" series throughout the week. Netflix enters the MLB landscape with exclusive broadcasts of the 2026 opener on March 25, the Home Run Derby on July 13, and the "Field of Dreams" game on August 13. TBS will also broadcast select games, including a June 2 matchup against the Phillies.
