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

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.