Padres news: Julio Teheran, Jose Abreu’s market, Craig Stammen buzz

The San Diego Padres haven’t made any splash moves this offseason, but those are surely to come knowing how hungry A.J. Preller is for a World Series.

Out of nowhere over Thanksgiving weekend, the Padres inked veteran starter Julio Teheran to a minor league contract. A two-time All-Star with the Braves, Teheran joined the Tigers last season after a forgettable stint with the Angels.

Unfortunately, he was shut down for the year with a right shoulder strain after one start for Detroit, and he’ll look to get his career back on track in San Diego.

Despite the lack of big spending, the Padres are still linked with a cavalcade of high-profile free agents. After a long weekend of eating leftovers from the holiday and watching football, let’s delve into a Padres news roundup.

Most of these nuggets come from The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, who dropped his “MLB Hot Stove” article Monday morning (subscription required).

More Padres News

• Per Rosenthal, Jose Abreu remains a target for the Padres, but the Astros are interested in the former AL MVP. In a bit of a surprise, Rosenthal pegged the Marlins and Rays as potential landing spots for Abreu given the slugger’s a Cuba native and owns a home just south of Miami.
• While Abreu is intrigued by the idea of joining a World Series contender — the Padres and Astros certainly fit that bill — the Rays are almost always in the playoffs and definitely a team to watch.
• The Padres are in the market for a catcher, and Rosenthal named A’s standout Sean Murphy as a potential target given his ties to Bob Melvin. However, San Diego is still bullish on Luis Campusano, and likely wouldn’t want to part with top prospect Jackson Merrill for a catcher, per Rosenthal.
• Though Craig Stammen is approaching his age-38 season and missed two months with shoulder inflammation post-All-Star break, Rosenthal understands the Padres are “likely” to re-sign the right-hander, whom Melvin regards as a clubhouse leader and a trusted veteran in the bullpen.

MLB News

• Once viewed as the favorites to land Jacob deGrom, the Rangers are more confident in signing one of Kodai Senga or Carlos Rodon. While Texas resides in the AL, it would sting if San Diego comes up short in the Senga sweepstakes given his familiarity with Nick Martinez, Robert Suarez and Yu Darvish.
• Speaking of deGrom, the Dodgers’ preference for “short-term, high-dollar” deals, as Rosenthal put it, makes them a real threat to land deGrom, who, despite his injury concerns, is arguably the best starter in the sport.
• Padres fans won’t be devastated to learn Phillies star Bryce Harper, who effectively ended San Diego’s season with his two-run bomb in Game 5, underwent Tommy John surgery and won’t return until June at the earliest. This news definitely hurts Philly’s chances of making it back to October.