Padres Editorial: Are There Any Free Agents Left The Padres Should Target?

By Jason Evans | Jan 28, 2015

Two days ago, UT-San Diego published a list of remaining major league free agents. There’s only 62 names left. Some of the players there are retiring like Josh Beckett and Derek Jeter. Ichiro Suzuki just signed with the Marlins officially as did Jonny Gomes with the Atlanta Braves. Is there anyone that the Padres should specifically go after?

Well, James Shields is still out there, though he’s gonna cost a lot of money and I’m not sure the Padres are going to go down that road, even with all of their big moves so far this off-season. Would Shields put them over the top as far as playoff contention goes? Possibly, but as I said, I don’t think they wanna spend the money and give up the draft pick.

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Ryan Doumit is still out there, and even though he hit just .197 with a .553 OPS, he could be useful on a spring invitee contract. Doumit can catch and play outfield and is a switch-hitter. Back in 2013, he hit .247 with a .710 OPS so is he finished or does he have something left?

Paul Maholm could be another name they could target. Maholm was just plain not good last year, but he can be a league average lefty to give Bud Black and company another name to look at during Spring Training for the rotation or a long man role out of the bullpen.

Speaking of bullpen, Burke Badenhop was excellent for the Boston Red Sox last season with a 2.29 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. Burdenhop had a 61% groundball rate last season which helped his effectiveness.

If the Padres want to take a flier on a veteran lefty for the bullpen, Neal Cotts and ex-Friar Joe Thatcher are out there. Cotts was quite a find for the Rangers back in 2013 after not pitching in the majors since 2009. Last year, Cotts had a 4.32 ERA but a 3.58 FIP.

Thatcher was pitching well with the Diamondbacks, but was a complete disaster with the Angels, posting an 8.53 ERA in 16 games.

The pickings are slim, but there still are players out there in the free agent marketplace that can help fill a role on a team around the edges. For the Padres, any of those five players could potentially help and bring some additional depth.

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