The San Diego Padres are in a tough spot this offseason. They’re losing Dylan Cease and Michael King, their two best pitchers, to free agency, and they don’t have the money to sign both back on new deals.
In fact, it seems like Cease is almost certainly going to leave town for a huge deal with a different big-market team. There’s a chance the Padres can retain King, but they’re likely going to be diving into free agency to patch up their rotation.
Sports Illustrated’s Will Laws and Nick Selbe recently predicted the Padres would sign Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Ranger Suárez in free agency this winter.
“The gap between Valdez and Suárez is razor thin, and you could make a strong argument for their places on this list being swapped,” Laws and Selbie wrote. “The Phillies stalwart is a similarly crafty lefty who has been the picture of consistency over the last four years, always posting a FIP between 3.21 and 3.90. A master of inducing soft contact, Suárez goes against the grain of the modern model starter who relies on plus stuff and seems to thrive on giving hitters a different look than they’re used to. He should solidify some contender’s projected playoff rotation.”
This idea feels a bit far-fetched as Suárez is projected to sign a massive $164 million deal, per Jim Bowden of The Athletic.
The main reason the Padres are likely going to lose Cease is the money, so if they have $164-plus million to chase Suárez, they could put it into Cease instead.
The Padres will likely need to settle for more affordable pitchers in free agency this winter.
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