3 moves the San Diego Padres must make after missing out on Jung Hoo Lee

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This offseason has been rough so far for the San Diego Padres. Coming off a disappointing 82-80 season with no postseason appearance, the Friars have only seen key players leave while failing to make any major additions thus far. Juan Soto and Trent Grisham were traded away while Seth Lugo, Nick Martinez, and Luis Garcia have all joined new teams via free agency.

The Padres haven't signed anyone to a MLB deal and we haven't even seen them connected to many free agents. With their financial situation in flux, it's hard to know exactly what San Diego can even afford to do in free agency.

One of the players they were linked to was Korean outfielder Jung Hoo Lee. With the Padres trading away two-thirds of their outfield, their interest made tons of sense. Unfortunately, Lee inked a six-year deal worth $113 million with the division rival San Francisco Giants. Lee would've been a great get for San Diego, but he was very clearly out of their price range. A.J. Preller must pivot quickly to fill needs on the roster as the market should move quicker with Shohei Ohtani off the board. These three players would help fill gaping holes on the roster.

1) The Padres should sign Marcus Stroman

The Padres managed to acquire four pitchers in the big Juan Soto trade with the Yankees. Adding depth is great, but only one of the four, Michael King, figures to have a spot locked into the Padres rotation. King joins Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish as the guaranteed starting pitchers Mike Shildt will have at his disposal. That is, obviously, not enough.

If San Diego was seriously in on Lee who received a nine-figure deal, then it makes sense to assume they have the money necessary to sign a pitcher like Marcus Stroman who is not in the top tier of pitchers in free agency but would be a great Seth Lugo replacement.

Stroman was an All-Star last season with the Chicago Cubs, posting a 3.95 ERA in 27 appearances (25 starts). He did not finish strong and missed time due to injury, but his first half saw him post a sub-3.00 ERA and help keep the Cubs afloat.

Stroman throughout his career has been mostly durable and an effective innings eater when healthy. His ground ball-inducing repertoire should fit in well in front of what should be a solid infield defense. MLB Trade Rumors predicts a two-year deal worth $44 million. Perhaps San Diego can add an extra year or two to the 32-year-old's deal to lower the AAV a bit. If so, it'd be a really nice fit.

2) The Padres should sign Kevin Kiermaier

After trading both Juan Soto and Trent Grisham to the Yankees, the Padres need to add a pair of outfielders to replace them. Fortunately, there are still some nice outfielders available in free agency for them to sign. One of those outfielders is Kevin Kiermaier who would be a pretty clear upgrade over Trent Grisham.

Kiermaier spent each of the first 10 years of his MLB career with the Rays, but spent last season with the Blue Jays. He wound up having one of his best seasons in a new environment, slashing .265/.322/.419 with eight home runs and 36 RBI. He tacked on 14 stolen bases in 15 tries and six triples. Anything Kiermaier contributes offensively is just a bonus, and he wound up being an above-average hitter last season thanks to his 104 OPS+. His offensive production is just a bonus because of how absurdly good he is defensively.

The 33-year-old took home the fourth Gold Glove award of his career, playing a terrific center field for Toronto. Kiermaier would be replacing another Gold Glover in Grisham, but his offensive profile of being more of a contact-first hitter could fit better at the bottom of this order than Grisham's all-or-nothing approach.

Kiermaier on a short-term deal to patrol center field feels like an absolute no-brainer.

3) The Padres should sign Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

Replacing the bat of Juan Soto would've only been possible if San Diego shocked the world by signing Shohei Ohtani. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. isn't close to the hitter Juan Soto is, obviously, but he'd be a solid replacement considering the circumstances.

The 30-year-old spent each of his first five MLB seasons with the Blue Jays before being traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks last offseason. He's been consistently solid at the plate throughout his career, and that was no different in his lone season in the desert.

Gurriel slashed .261/.309/.463 with 24 home runs and 82 RBI in 145 games for Arizona. He was an All-Star and a key piece to their NL Championship roster. He was even a National League All-Star. He doesn't walk much, but Lourdes has hit 20+ home runs in three of the last four full seasons (excluding 2020) and has been in the middle of some really stout lineups.

The Padres won't expect Gurriel to replicate Soto's production, but there's nobody they can realistically acquire who would do that. He'd slot in nicely behind the likes of Kim, Tatis, Machado, and Bogaerts and should be a solid run producer for a team that needs more help offensively.

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1) The Padres should sign Marcus Stroman

2) The Padres should sign Kevin Kiermaier

3) The Padres should sign Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

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