The San Diego Padres were dealt a brutal blow Monday when it was revealed Fernando Tatis would be sidelined at least a couple of months after undergoing surgery to repair a broken wrist. In a surprising report, the Padres are rumored to have entered the Freddie Freeman sweepstakes, looking to add another star to the roster and stay afloat while Tatis is on the mend. According to Bob Nightengale, the Padres have “jumped into the bidding war” for Freeman.

The Padres are certainly a surprise entree to the Freeman sweepstakes, considering their mass spending last season despite being a rather small market team. Still, if there's a way to better position themselves for a World Seies run, landing Freeman is precisely the way to boost their odds.

San Diego is sure to face a ton of competition to lure Freeman to town, with clubs such as the Dodgers, Yankees, and Jays all having expressed sizable interest in the 32-year-old. In order to facilitate the addition of Freeman, the Padres will continue their quest to offload the contracts of Eric Hosmer and Wil Myers, both of whom are being paid vastly above their levels of production.

The thought of Freeman in a lineup alongside Jake Cronenworth, Manny Machado and a healthy Fernando Tatis should have fans fired up, especially given that landing Freeman would be a direct blow to their NL West rival Dodgers.

Last season with the Braves, Freeman slashed .300/.393/.503 with 31 home runs and 83 RBI across 159 games, earning his fifth trip to the All-Star Game.