Stephen Strasburg is a free agent and the San Diego Padres need a frontline ace, so here’s why they are a favorite to bring him home.
Stephen Strasburg once struck out 23 batters in one game as a starter in his final season at San Diego State University. And he could very well be striking out batters again in San Diego–in the brown and gold.
Kevin Acee of the SD-UT reported that the San Diego Padres are expected to make an attempt to sign the 2019 World Series MVP and that there are numerous people in the organization who believe that GM A.J. Preller will be able to convince his boss, Ron Fowler, to spend for the third straight offseason.
Here are some reasons why he is a fit and why San Diego is a favorite.
The Padres don’t have many options
The San Diego Padres have a lot of young arms in the rotation including Chris Paddack with MacKenzie Gore and Luis Patino not far behind, but what they do not have is a front line starting pitcher.
Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen has already said that he is not trading Noah Syndergaard, which means that is one less option for the Padres to check the starting pitcher box.
And Gerrit Cole seems to be out of their price range but Strasburg is a different story.
It is time for San Diego to win
The Padres have been rebuilding for years now ever since Preller’s plan to bring in Matt Kemp, Craig Kimbrel, and Justin Upton didn’t work out.
Ron Fowler has already said that if the team does not perform better in 2020 and 2021 there will be changes, which means A.J. Preller could be out of a job if they don’t contend for the whole 2020 season.