The San Diego Padres are unafraid to hand out multi-year deals in free agency.
General manager A.J. Preller signed the likes of Eric Hosmer and Manny Machado to lucrative contracts in back-to-back offseasons, and all signs point to the Padres making a run at a top free agent this winter.
The Padres might be in on Stephen Strasburg, who grew up in San Diego and starred at San Diego State University before being drafted No. 1 overall by the Washington Nationals in 2009.
However, much like the Phillies and Yankees, they are casting a wide net. Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports that the Padres are meeting with representatives for Madison Bumgarner:
Padres have interest in Madison Bumgarner and they are going to meet at the GM meetings with MadBum’s agent Ed Cerulo. SD has also been connected to Stephen Strasburg.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 14, 2019
The Padres have plenty of arm talent in their pipeline. Chris Paddack emerged as a star last season, and Joey Lucchesi and Dinelson Lamet put together a number of quality starts. More promise resides in the minors, where top prospects like MacKenzie Gore and Luis Patino could be in the fold at some point in 2020.
However, there is a real possibility that both Gore and Patino need more seasoning, and youngsters like Nick Margevicius and Cal Quantrill took some lumps last year.
The Padres certainly have to bolster the pitching staff, but they also need to improve on an offense that was 13th in the NL in runs scored and OPS last season.
San Diego is itching to compete next season, and adding Madison Bumgarner could prove to be a cost-effective move that would immediately improve the rotation while also allowing the Padres to add veteran hitters.
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