After missing out on a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals for Nolan Arenado, the San Diego Padres have some money to spend. Their focus appears to be upgrading the starting rotation.
"While $11 million over two years for Arenado isn’t especially burdensome, the Padres prefer to invest more heavily in a starting pitcher, a person familiar with their thinking said," The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal wrote Tuesday.
"Ideally, they would pounce on a starter who lingers on the market the way right-hander Nick Pivetta did last offseason. The Padres did not sign Pivetta to his four-year, $55 million deal until Feb. 17."
Three players San Diego may consider are all veteran right-handers and should cost significantly less than Framber Valdez and Zac Gallen.
San Diego's options for the right price
The three starters Rosenthal listed who could be suitable fits with the Padres are Nick Martinez, Lucas Giolito, and Justin Verlander. He added that San Diego has a "preferred range at an $8 million to $12 million average annual value" heading into the upcoming season.
Martinez was a swingman with the Padres from 2022-23 and had a respectable 2025 season with the Cincinnati Reds, posting an ERA+ of 103 while holding opponents to a 34.5 hard hit percentage.
Injury and home run concerns hover above Giolito, but he made 26 starts with the Boston Red Sox last year and had a.194 batting average against his changeup.
Verlander had a resurgent second half, finding his old form. The soon-to-be 43-year-old posted a 2.99 ERA in 14 starts following the All-Star break.
More MLB news:
- Team USA's projected WBC lineup is incredible
- Dominican Republic's projected WBC lineup is fierce
- Red Sox are paying Manny Ramirez same 2026 salary as Dodgers are paying Shohei Ohtani
- Buster Posey will change Hall of Fame voting forever
- MLB looking at realignment into East-West arrangement
- Hunter Pence's nephew has the best name and a 100 MPH fastball