Although the San Diego Padres addressed two needs in the outfield and bullpen, there’s still plenty of work to do the remainder of the winter.
San Diego Padres GM A.J. Preller had a very successful day yesterday, as he added a left-handed hitting outfielder who can play center field and an Andrew Miller type reliever to pair with Kirby Yates in addition to a back end starter.
Trent Grisham and Drew Pomeranz figure to be key pieces in the success of the Padres at the big league level for years to come, but Preller also bet on both of them in a sense.
Grisham hasn’t had a lot of major league experience and he doesn’t seem to project to be a center fielder and Pomeranz’s two good months with Milwaukee changed his life. The former Padres All-Star was given a four-year deal, which is something that teams were not willing to give to a guy who was the only guy left in the bullpen in Game 3 of the 2018 World Series when Nathan Eovaldi pitched over 100 pitches in relief.
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But even though there are fewer holes on the roster, that doesn’t mean there isn’t more work to do. With the departure of Luis Urias, the big question is who is going to be the second baseman come opening day.
Well, San Diego has internal options like Ian Kinsler, Greg Garcia, and Ty France as well as minor leaguers Esteban Quiroz and Owen Miller.
If I were to make a prediction as to who has the best chance to be the second baseman based on the internal candidates, I would choose Owen Miller and Ian Kinsler.
Kinsler is the veteran option but there are questions around him after a very disappointing 2019 season. Miller will compete for the Opening Day roster after hitting .290 with 13 homers in Double-A last season.
Second base is a big need to fill to be the stopgap until Xavier Edwards and/or C.J. Abrams arrives, but the next need is the position that has the potential of meaning the most for years to come.
And that is a starting pitcher.
Zach Davies was added as an option to be behind Chris Paddack, Dinelson Lamet, and Garrett Richards in the 2020 rotation along with Joey Lucchesi, but I feel like Jayce Tingler needs that frontline guy that can lead a very young rotation.
There are plenty of options from Stephen Strasburg to Hyun-Jin Ryu so it is a matter of which one the San Diego Padres organization believes would be the right fit.