Padres roster review: Sung-Mun song – San Diego Union-Tribune
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SUNG-MUN SONG
Position(s): Third base, second base
Bats / Throws: Left / Right
2026 opening day age: 29
Height / Weight: 6-foot / 194 pounds
How acquired: Signed as a free agent in December 2025
Contract status: A four-year, $15 million deal will see Song make $2.5 million in 2026, $3 million in 2027, $3.5 million in 2028 and $4 million in 2029 if he does not opt out of last year; Half of his $1 million signing bonus is due in January 2026 and the other half in 2027; There is a $7 million mutual option for 2030.
.214 — Song’s isolated power in 2025, a career high as he prepared for a jump to the majors. Isolated power measures a player’s raw power (extra bases per at-bat) and Song had a .190 OPS in 2018, in his third year as a pro in Korea, before it dropped to .101 in 2019 and then a career-low .095 in 2023. Hitting 19 homers pushed Song’s isolated power to .178 in 2024 and then a career-high 26 homers push it even higher in 2025.
TRENDING
Idle — Drafted by the Heroes in 2014, Song debuted in the KBO the following year but didn’t become a regular until 2019. A drop-off in production — he had an .884 OPS in 78 games in 2018 and a .597 OPS in 103 games in 2019 — was followed by losing the 2020 season and a chunk of the 2021 season to military service obligations. Then three straight sub-.700 OPS seasons forced Song to rethink his approach to professional baseball, especially in the face of the likes of Ha-Seong Kim,Jung Hoo Lee and Hyeseong Kim generating big-league buzz. Song started with weight training and nutrition. A hitting coach also helped him with balance, pull-side power and the ability to catch up with the sort of fastballs that seem to dog Korean players when they arrive in the States. It all added up to a breakthrough year in which Song paired 19 homers, 104 RBIs and 21 steals with a .340/.409/.518 batting line. To prove it was no fluke, Song followed up his 2024 season with another strong effort that solidified his wish to try his hand in the majors. The ensuing, four-year, $15 million deal that Song signed with the Padres in December cost his new employer a $3 million posting fee to be paid to the Kiwoom Heroes.
2026 OUTLOOK
Like Kim before him, Song appears to be joining the Padres as a utility player with the hope that he blossoms into more as he gets comfortable in a new country and league. Song had experience in Korea at third base (500 starts), second base (149 starts) and first base (38 starts). Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller even mentioned outfield reps in passing as he assessed how Song could help the Padres in 2026.
Former KBO player Sung-Mun Song shakes hands with Padres vice president of amateur and international scouting Pete DeYoung after signing a contract with the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on Saturday. (Photo by Armond Feffer/San Diego Padres)
A longtime fixture in Chula Vista Harbor is being told to shove off. The 137-foot schooner Bill of Rights, a replica tall ship that’s doubled as a floating classroom in San Diego’s South Bay for decades, has been ordered to vacate its berth by May 5, according to its nonprofit operator, the South Bayfront Sailing Association. The group says Safe Harbor Marina, acquired last year by Blackstone Infrastructure, terminated the lease without giving a clear explanation, NBC San Diego reports. The Bill of Rights has been docked in Chula Vista since 2013.
The 1971-built vessel hosts youth programs that teach seamanship, navigation, and teamwork, with students as young as 10 standing watch and steering under supervision. With eviction looming, supporters have launched a national letter-writing push and an online petition, and Chula Vista’s mayor and several city council members have publicly backed keeping the ship in place. “All tall ships from all over America know that Chula Vista exists—they’re all writing letters,” says Susan Johnson of the South Bayfront Sailing Association. “People are reaching out to elected officials and even contacting Blackstone directly.”
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For now, scheduled visits from Scouts, Navy Sea Cadets, and other student groups are still on the calendar. “We primarily do training for at-risk youth, US Navy Sea Cadets, and ROTC,” Captain Don Johnson, a disabled Vietnam veteran, tells 10 News. “Basically, to preserve maritime history. To provide education for youth.” He says he’s “optimistic” the community response will keep the Bill of Rights from sailing off for good. “I’ve had this dock built for a tall ship because there aren’t places for it,” Johnson says. “If they do indeed evict us, which they’ve said they’re doing, I have nowhere to go.”
Here is what you need to know in the March 23, 2023, Streamline newsletter:
The Trump administration has ordered ICE agents to airports across the U.S. to help shorten security lines as the partial government shutdown surpasses the 40-day mark.
Just as last week’s heat wave comes to an end, another round of high temperatures is coming back to San Diego County. Max Goldwasser’s microclimate forecasts will help you get ready for this week’s warm weather.
In your consumer news, we’ve got details on the “Buy Nothing Project,” a global movement that is connecting people with the things they need for free.
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WEEKEND WRAP-UP
THE STREAMLINE
WATCH — ABC 10News brings you The Streamline for Monday, March 23 — everything you need to know in under 10 minutes:
The Streamline: Monday, March 23
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TOP STORY
ICE agents were expected to begin handling some security duty at numerous U.S. airports Monday amid an ongoing partial government shutdown that has sidelined many Transportation Security Administration officers, with border czar Tom Homan in charge of the effort.
Federal officials said Sunday that border czar Tom Homan would be in charge of the effort to use immigration enforcement personnel to supplement security at airports amid the shutdown, which has left roughly 50,000 TSA employees working without pay, contributing to increased absenteeism and staffing shortages at airports nationwide.
Early Monday morning, ABC News — citing sources — published the following list of airports where ICE agents would be deployed:
Chicago-O’Hare International Airport
Cleveland Hopkins International Airport
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport
Houston’s Bush Intercontinental
John F. Kennedy International Airport (New York)
LaGuardia Airport (New York)
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport
Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (San Juan, Puerto Rico)
Newark Liberty International Airport
Philadelphia International Airport
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
Pittsburgh International Airport
Southwest Florida International Airport (Fort Myers, Florida)
It was unknown if San Diego International Airport would be added to the list.
Meanwhile, some local officials balked at the Trump administration’s announcement, including a top TSA official at San Diego International Airport.
“I have no idea how they can contribute at an airport unless it was for intimidation purposes,” Aaron Vazquez, a TSA lead transportation security officer at SAN and assistant airport steward for the American Federation of Government Employees Local 1260 in San Diego, told City News Service on Sunday. “What are they going to do, find somebody and shoot them?”
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Vazquez said his job is to make sure travelers are not a threat to security, which has nothing to do with immigration enforcement.
“I don’t want them anywhere near the checkpoint and officers that I’m in charge of. I don’t want them interfering with what the officers are trying to do,” Vazquez told CNS.
“I don’t need an ICE agent telling passengers what to do. We are trained to be nice to passengers. They are law enforcement so they are armed. TSA is not,” he added.
City Councilwoman and Airport Authority Board Member Marni von Wilpert also objected to the idea.
“ICE’s aggressive, abusive conduct makes us less safe. Putting ICE in our airports will make travel more chaotic, more stressful, and less secure — not better,” she said. “ICE has already shown it refuses to follow the law and respect our communities — so I’m deeply concerned about what this deployment will mean for San Diego travelers and the thousands of workers at San Diego International Airport.
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“… The solution to long security lines and airport delays is simple: Congress needs to properly fund and staff TSA now,” von Wilpert added.
“.. I have been in touch with San Diego Airport Authority staff and legal counsel. We do not yet know the full scope of ICE’s plans at the airport, but we are working to get answers and minimize disruption and anxiety for travelers and our workforce.”
Rep. Scott Peters, D-Poway, posted a photo of long lines at the airport on Sunday with the following message:
“View from the San Diego airport at 6:30 this morning. It doesn’t have to be like this. I have a bill to pay TSA workers, Coast Guard and emergency management without adding more to ICE and Border Patrol. Easy, right? But Trump won’t allow it. As the DHS shutdown drags into nearly 40 days, federal workers and travelers shouldn’t have to suffer from Republican inaction.”
Homan told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that the effort was about “helping TSA do their mission and get the American public through that airport as quick as they can while adhering to all the security guidelines and the protocols.”
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“We’re simply there to help TSA do their job in areas that don’t need their specialized expertise, such as screening through the X-ray machine,” he said. “Not trained in that? We won’t do that. But there are roles we can play to release TSA officers from the non-significant roles, such as guarding an exit so they can get back to the scanning machines and move people quicker.”
On Saturday, President Donald Trump said he would order ICE agents to assist with airport security if Congress did not immediately reach an agreement to fund TSA officers.
In a social media post, Trump said ICE agents could also be tasked with making immigration arrests at airports.
“If the radical left Democrats don’t immediately sign an agreement to let our country, in particular, our airports, be FREE and SAFE again, I will move our brilliant and patriotic ICE agents to the airports where they will do security like no one has ever seen before,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The proposal comes as a partial government shutdown has left roughly 50,000 TSA employees working without pay, contributing to increased absenteeism and staffing shortages at airports nationwide.
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Administration officials said about 10% of TSA workers failed to report for duty on some recent days, compared to typical rates of less than 2%.
“Officers have to take matters into their own hands and not come to work,” Vazquez said. “They are stressed, they are coming to me saying `what can I do?’ They can’t afford gas to get to work.”
The usual un-planned absence call-out before the shutdown was about 20 officers per day in San Diego. Now there are about 70 to 80 officers per day who are not going to work, according to Vazquez.
“They (ICE agents) can monitor traffic of the passengers to make sure they don’t get out of line or go through the stanchions,” Vazquez said. “I don’t understand what we need help with if it’s not people that are able to screen the passengers.”
Meanwhile, travelers are being warned to expected delays. The San Diego County Regional Airport Authority issued a travel advisory Sunday for passengers traveling out of the city’s airport.
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“Passengers traveling out of San Diego International Airport are encouraged to check their flight status before coming to SAN and plan to arrive at least two hours before their flight,” airport spokeswoman Nicole Hall said Sunday, the second day the airport was experiencing delays.
“Checkpoint wait times and flight scheduling are subject to the operations of our federal and airline partners. These operations are, at times, affected by the federal government shutdown.”
Hall said an influx of seasonal spring break travelers was also affecting wait times, which could take up to one hour during a “fluid situation.”
“We appreciate the ongoing commitment from TSA, FAA, and our partner airlines to maintain the safety and reliability of the national transportation system during this challenging time,” Hall said. “Our focus remains on ensuring a safe and efficient airport experience.”
Travelers to SAN were encouraged to plan ahead and arrive two hours before domestic flights and three hours prior to international departures.
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Travelers can check flight status updates at https://www.san.org/Flights/Flight-Status.
The average wait time is about 20 minutes to get through airport security at SAN when fully staffed with a maximum wait time of 30 minutes, but some wait times on Saturday were up to an “unheard of” 80 minutes, according to Vazquez, who said “Saturdays are usually chill.”
Before the shutdown, about 500 to 550 officers were available to screen each day in San Diego.
Story by City News Service
MICROCLIMATE FORECASTS
Coasts
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Inland
Mountains
Deserts
BREAKING OVERNIGHT
President Trump on Monday morning announced he is ordering the postponement of airstrikes on Iran’s energy facilities because of what he cited as “very good and productive” talks with Iranian leadership to end the war.
The president said the pause would last five days; several days ago, Trump set a deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or the U.S. would “obliterate” Iranian power plants.
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In response, Iran issued its own threat of laying mines across the entire Persian Gulf.
Trump calls for five-day pause in strikes on Iranian power plants, energy sites
CONSUMER
An online platform is helping people turn to their neighbors instead of stores for all sorts of items — for free!
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WATCH — Consumer reporter Marie Coronel explains how the “Buy Nothing Project” is not only connecting community members, but also saving them money:
How the ‘Buy Nothing Project’ is helping consumers find necessities for free
WE FOLLOW THROUGH
The escalating conflict in the Middle East is driving up fuel prices nationwide, and in the North County, several Oceanside gas stations have already surged past the six‑dollar mark.
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AAA reports that the average price for a gallon of regular gas in San Diego County has climbed to $5.86 — up $1.20 from this time last year. Meanwhile, the national average is creeping closer to $4.
WATCH — Reporter Jane Kim spoke with some San Marcos residents who are finding ways to cope with the higher costs cutting into their budgets:
Gas prices in San Diego County hit highest levels since 2023 as the war in Iran impacts crude oil costs
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