Padres expected to aggressively pursue top free agent starting pitchers originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The San Diego Padres go into the offseason with a major starting pitcher problem. Both Dylan Cease and Michael King are on the open market, and they will be without Yu Darvish next season after undergoing surgery on his elbow.
While they have spoken about transitioning some relievers, like Mason Miller, to the starting rotation, that is never a guaranteed thing. They may be better off acquiring a frontline starter.
Lucky for them, there are plenty of quality starting pitchers on the open market. However, they are not the only ones looking to make upgrades to their starting rotation.
The offseason started to heat up with the GM Meetings earlier this week. Plenty of clubs were gauging the open market, including the Padres, via The Athletic’s Jim Bowden.
“The starting pitching market has a lot of teams looking at the top free agents, with the Braves, Mets, Padres, Giants, Orioles, Red Sox, Tigers, Astros, Yankees, and Angels leading the way.”
One name to watch here is Framber Valdez. He will lead the group of starting pitchers on the open market, and he was actually in attendance during the GM Meetings. However, there is no indication that San Diego ever spoke to Valdez during those meetings.
Another name to watch here is Tatsuya Imai. He will garner some interest as a frontline starter, especially after his strong showing in the NPB over the last two seasons.
San Diego could also go after Cody Ponce, who spent this past season in the KBO, winning the Choi Dong-won Award, which is given to the top starting pitcher in the league. He could be someone who will not cost as much as some of the other top names, but still has the ability to be a dependable frontline starter.