3 free agents San Diego Padres should target in 2021 offseason

Other free agents to consider

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For a list of all of the free agents I was considering in this article, MLB.com put up their top 20 free agents for next offseason here.

I almost put J.T. Realmuto third instead of Bauer. If the Padres end up trading Luis Campusano and don’t feel like Francisco Mejia is the catcher of the future, then they could go after Realmuto who is considered by most to be the best all-around catcher in baseball right now.

James Paxton is the second-best pitcher listed on here, which tells you how weak the starting pitching class is next year.

The article referenced above does mention that Corey Kluber, Chris Archer, Charlie Morton, and Jon Lester could all become free agents next season as well. But none of those names really interest me either.

Our old friend Anthony Rizzo could become a free agent, as could Giancarlo Stanton.

Nobody else on that list really excites me for the Padres.

You have to think they are set at third base, shortstop, and left field next year.

And they’re probably stuck at first base with Hosmer unless they can find someone to take on that contract next offseason. And that could prove to be even harder than trying to move Myers’ contract this offseason.

If nobody really grabs hold of the second base spot, then DJ LeMahieu could make some sense as a free agent next offseason.

And if they were to move Fernando Tatis Jr. to another position, there are some good shortstops in next year’s free agent class.

Could you imagine putting Andrelton Simmons on the left side of the infield with Machado? There wouldn’t be a single ball get through that side of the infield.

I know we have a lot of baseball to play before then, but if the team takes a big stride forward in 2020 then perhaps the front office looks to make another big splash in free agency next offseason.