Former Padres trade acquisition signs with White Sox as depth options narrow

The Padres may have just missed out on one of the best middle-of-the-rotation starters who were still available in the free agent market. Although he wasn't quite expected to return to San Diego, left-hander Martín Pérez is now officially off the board.

The 33-year-old southpaw signed a deal with the Chicago White Sox, which makes this missed opportunity even more of a gut punch. The Padres are in a much better position organizationally, but they still somehow lost out on Pérez to a club that registered a 41-121 record in 2024.

Pérez was traded from the Pirates to the Padres in late July, and he was one of the more crucial pitchers down the stretch. In 10 starts with San Diego, Pérez logged a 3.46 ERA with 44 strikeouts in 52 innings, including three quality starts and seven appearances with two or fewer runs allowed.

Former Padres starting pitcher Martín Pérez signs with the White Sox

Looking at the remaining free agent starting pitchers, that level of production is difficult to come by. With Joe Musgrove on the shelf and Dylan Cease's name on the trade block, the Padres are in dire need of signing another arm, which makes losing out on Pérez even worse, considering he is left-handed, won't cost much, and is reliable.

Who is left on the list? If they are interested in a lefty, then Jose Quintana and Patrick Corbin are two options, although they figure to be more expensive than Pérez, and much less productive on the mound. As it stands, Jack Flaherty is likely the best free agent still on the market, but he is drawing interest everywhere and will seek out a longer-term deal.

San Diego, if all else fails, better hope they land Roki Sasaki. The starting rotation looks a bit meager ahead of spring training, but signing him would make their staff one of the better ones in baseball. Having that insurance of Martin Pérez would have been great for the Friars, but now that he is off to another organization, it might be time for the front office to sweat a little. The available players aren't as good, inexpensive, and valuable as Pérez, which can come back to hurt San Diego if they lack pitching depth in 2025.