MLB Heads to Mexico City: Padres vs. Diamondbacks Showdown
- Mayline Ruiz
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
With baseball back in the rotation, it's almost time to start gearing up for the regular season. Even with spring training, there are already games fans can start to look forward to. The San Diego Padres and the Arizona Diamondbacks are set to play in Mexico City on April 25-26 at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú.
2025 Season
The Padres and Diamondbacks are in the National League West amongst big teams such as the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants. Last season, the San Diego Padres finished with a 90-72 record, placing them in second place in the National League West right behind the Dodgers, who finished their season 93-69.
San Diego was set to make a playoff appearance against the Chicago Cubs. This was their second year in a row making it to the MLB Postseason after they were eliminated by Los Angeles in 2024 during the National League Division Series. Heading into the 2025 postseason, San Diego faced the Cubs in the Wildcard series and lost the series 2-1.
Arizona, on the other hand, finished its season with an 80-82 record and was fourth in the National League West behind the Giants, who had an 81-81 record. Unfortunately, the Diamondbacks didn't make it to the playoffs last year, but they had a World Series appearance in 2023 when they played against the 2023 World Series Champions, the Texas Rangers.
Free Agency
With the season ending, the Padres had a lot of their star players elect free agency, such as Robert Suarez, Luis Arraez, Martín Maldonado, Michael King, Nestor Cortes, and, most importantly, one of their ace pitchers, Dylan Cease.
While the Padres lost notable players, they did an excellent job at adding depth to their roster by bringing in experienced players such as Walker Buehler, Nick Castellanos, and Alex Verdugo. Last season, Castellanos had a .694 OPS with 17 home runs and 72 RBIs, and Verdugo had a .585 OPS with 12 RBIs. Buehler had a 4.93 ERA with 92 strikeouts.
Shifting to Arizona, they almost lost out on one of their star players, Zac Gallen. The Diamondbacks prioritized signing a lot of pitchers, such as bringing back Merrill Kelly, Gallen, and Michael Soroka. Gallen finished the season with a 4.83 ERA, and he struck out 175 batters. Last season, Soroka spent the season with the Cubs as well as the Washington Nationals. After getting traded to Chicago, Soroka finished the season with a 4.52 ERA and 95 strikeouts. Kelly, who has been with Arizona for seven years now, finished the 2025 season with a 3.52 ERA and 167 strikeouts.
Spring Training
Now that the rosters are close to being finalized, they have been able to put their roster to the test in Spring Training. San Diego currently holds a record of 9-9, while Arizona has a record of 8-10. We can expect both teams to have a big year.
The Diamondbacks, who have a strong pitching staff, will be unstoppable. Reliable pitchers such as Gallen will help provide a stable arm in the rotation. Buehler, who had a funky year last season and has faced two Tommy John surgeries, is looking to bounce back and is a pitcher who is elite during the postseason.
San Diego will also have an exciting year. Just because some of their key players left, they still have some of their stars, such as Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. San Diego has a lot of veteran players, which will help them navigate a long season.
You can watch the Padres take on the Diamondbacks on April 25 and 26 at the Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú in Mexico City, and the game will be on MLBTV.
Edited by Mary Merensky
Comments