San Diego Padres: Four Affordable Free-Agents Friars Should Pursue

Veteran LHP Jason Vargas could anchor the San Diego Padres young-ish rotation

Signing free-agent lefty Jason Vargas would not be a high-profile free-agent signing for the San Diego Padres. If anything, it would likely rile up the MLB world, causing folks to complain about yet another “nobody” getting signed while a number of superstar free-agents remain unsigned.

Jason Vargas may fly under the radar, but there aren’t many other pitchers in baseball who have been more consistent. A soft-tossing left-handed starter, Jason Vargas has never overpowered hitters. He gets by on his off-speed stuff. Signing Vargas as a back-end of the rotation guy would give the San Diego Padres four solid starting pitchers.

Adding Vargas to the incumbent top-three of Clayton Richard, Dinelson Lamet, and Luis Perdomo would give this Padres a nice wrinkle to go along with the other budding stars on their roster. It could also bridge the gap while some of the Friars young pitchers continue to develop.

Next: A Padres Prospect To Keep An Eye On

Making any of these cost-effective moves, as opposed to committing long-term and a lot financially to Eric Hosmer, would give the San Diego Padres a much better chance at taking advantage of the talent and of their franchise. By not tying themselves down to a player who will be 36 at the end of a hypothetical seven-to-eight-year deal.