3 affordable offseason signings the Padres clearly should've made

Kyle Gibson

The focus here is on pitchers not only because there just has not been many position players signed at all this offseason, but also because that is the area where the Padres have lost the most this offseason with Blake Snell, Seth Lugo, Josh Hader, and Michael Wacha departing in free agency. One free agent name that is a bit surprising to see that the Padres didn't try to get in on this offseason is Kyle Gibson.

No one is arguing that Gibson would have been a sexy signing for the Padres. In fact, he is incredibly boring in a lot of ways. He has been around for a long time and since 2018, he has been the stereotypical backend starter that usually puts up around a mid-4 ERA every year, eats innings, and doesn't have the stuff to make any highlight reels unless he is on the receiving end of a hitter who is on a heater.

That said, the Padres don't need upside with every move they make right now. They need guys that will keep games that they start reasonably close who also don't cost much and at $12 million on a one year deal that he got from St. Louis, that is Gibson to a T.

Maybe the Padres just hated the fact that Gibson only throws in the low 90's and has to be spot on with his breaking stuff to succeed or maybe they were interested in him and the Cardinals were just his preferred landing spot. In any event, this is the sort of low investment move that the Padres should have made instead of watching the offseason pass them by.

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