The MLB Winter Meetings are a haven for baseball fans longing for 24-hour coverage of their favorite sport. The Hot Stove should come to a sizzle with the expected amount of free-agent signings and blockbuster trades to transpire next week.
The San Diego Padres need starting pitching because of the holes in their rotation. They have to fill three spots after Dylan Cease left to sign a seven-year, $210 million free agent deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, Yu Darvish is unavailable for the 2026 season
following elbow surgery, and Michael King is fielding offers from other teams after opting out of his contract in October.
Blue Jays changed FA starting pitching market
The Toronto Blue Jays have set a new salary benchmark for free agent starting pitchers after signing Cody Ponce to a three-year, $30 million deal. Other front office executives had to be aghast by the Jays giving a starting pitcher with no previous major league success such a lucrative contract. The signing offers other free agent starters more leverage in their contract negotiations.
Yes, the Padres thought Ponce was a cost-efficient rotation option, but not at those numbers. Now, the organization will have to look elsewhere, but the odds are high they will have to pay a premium price for comparable talent.
Padres have multiple SP options
The alternative is pursuing starters in a pitching-surplus trade market. Padres President of Baseball Operations and General Manager A.J. Preller must find viable options to pitch alongside Nick Pivetta, Randy Vasquez, and Joe Musgrove next season. Keep in mind, the Friars have limited payroll flexibility in 2026.
It is not surprising that the Friar Faithful have some skepticism about the organization acquiring quality starting pitching without adding more payroll to the budget. Instead, the market may force Preller to take on stopgap starters on short-term deals.
He needs to change the narrative, especially in the wake of media reports that the franchise is for sale. Ultimately, Preller needs to bring serviceable starters into the fold that lessens the blow of replacing Cease, Darvish, and possibly King in the rotation.
Ideally, bringing King back would be the perfect move for the franchise. There is a mutual reluctance to part ways. So, expect King to make a decision sometime during the Winter Meetings, as he does not want this stalemate to drag on much longer.
Preller may have to color outside the lines to add quality starters to the rotation. The way the market is heading after the Ponce signing, he might have to make uncomfortable financial decisions to keep the Padres in postseason contention.
