Padres trade acquisition expected to sign with NL East team in free agency

The San Diego Padres' free agency plans have been centered almost entirely around starting pitching, as the team is set to see three vacancies at the front-end.

The starting pitching exodus has been the focus for president of baseball operations, A.J. Preller, and the front office. However, another need has been highlighted but at the same time overshadowed…first base. Despite Luis Arráez saying he wants to return to San Diego, the Padres front office can’t unsee the fact that he doesn’t bring that much of a power bat to the table, as well as the fact that he is a below-average fielder and base runner.

Padres trade acquisition Ryan O’Hearn projected to land with Washington Nationals

While he served as the designated hitter for most of the year, Ryan O’Hearn got occasional reps at first, but he is also expected to leave. The Athletic has blurted out a few destinations, but one landing spot has especially intrigued us. His move happens to be to a team in a conference that is seeing its fair share of movement over the offseason, and that is the NL East. Andy McCullough predicts Ryan O’Hearn to sign with the Washington Nationals on a deal that MLB writers Tim Britton and Jim Bowden project to be in the two-to-three-year range, with an AAV of around $12 million per year.

McCullough stated that while the Nationals are building a young, solid foundation with James Wood and CJ Abrams (who were, in fact, traded away by the Padres), the fact that the team fired their manager, along with president of baseball operations, proves that they aren’t ready to make the biggest of splashes.

“Paul Tobonni was hired as the president of baseball operations to resurrect the Nationals, not play a re-run,” McCullough said.

He then pointed to the fact that the Nationals could make an offer to Pete Alonso, but backed up the reason why that wouldn’t work by saying that it was too early to go all in. Due to O’Hearn’s market value, he would make the perfect signing for a team looking to make a minor leap in the standings.

If O’Hearn, along with Luis Arráez, were to leave San Diego, it would give the team a whole other need to address. Perhaps Preller could consider moving Jake Cronenworth back to first base and bringing in a second baseman on a cheaper contract. Or if he really wants to impress fans, keep Cronenworth at second and make a whale of an offer for Pete Alonso.

As the man at the helm, Preller is faced with many difficult decisions, but not just regarding starting pitching. It will be intriguing to see how he handles the situation at first base along with the rotation. Only time will tell.