5 former Padres still without a job heading toward spring training

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The San Diego Padres are a team in transition at the moment. After the 2023 season proved to be a dud, the team was forced to make some pretty drastic moves to cut payroll after a few years of being amongst the league's biggest spenders. Most will probably point to the Padres trading away Juan Soto as the biggest blow, but the Padres also had to let several really good players walk in free agency due to their financial limitations.

Some of those former Padres have already found new teams for 2024. Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo both ended up signing with the Royals, but the biggest names that left San Diego for greener pastures have yet to sign this offseason.

Here are some former Padres players that are still free agents somehow

This isn't supposed to be an exhaustive list of every free agent that played for the Padres last season because, well, there are a lot of them and many of them only played minor roles. Instead, this list is a look at some of the more notable names still on the market and what the latest buzz is surrounding their free agencies. This offseason has been notoriously slow, but spring training is coming up fast so expect these guys to start finding new homes pretty quickly.

Josh Hader

Josh Hader is first up because it appears as though he could be the next domino to fall this offseason. Ever since Hader made his big league debut in 2017 with the Brewers, he has been among the best relievers in all of baseball. However, he struggled mightily after the Padres traded for him in 2022 and many wondered if that move would prove to be a costly mistake.

Fortunately for the Padres, that season proved to be an outlier as Hader re-established himself with a 1.28 ERA in 61 appearances in route to making his fifth All-Star team. As a free agent, rumor has it that he is looking to beat Edwin Diaz's deal with the Mets and get the richest reliever contract ever. His market started off pretty slow, but now it looks like the Astros could land him very soon to help out their beleaguered bullpen.

Rich Hill

At 43 years old, every season could be the last for Rich Hill. Hill is among the most well-traveled players in baseball history and that continued in 2023 when he started the season with the Pirates before getting traded to the Padres at the trade deadline last year. The deal didn't really work out as Hill struggled in San Diego with an 8.23 ERA in 10 appearances including five starts.

It remains unclear as to what the future holds for Hill. Frankly, it has been remarkable that he has been able to play as long as he has. The most current thinking is that Hill may not sign at all this offseason and instead will consider signing at midseason if he does at all. His career is clearly winding down and he has expressed a desire to spend more time with this family, so don't be shocked if he ends up deciding to just hang up his spikes and call it a career.

Gary Sanchez

Of all the Padres' current free agents, Gary Sanchez has become the one with which a reunion with San Diego is the most likely. After bouncing around the league following a seven season rollercoaster stint with the Yankees, Sanchez ended up landing with the Padres when they claimed him off waivers in May 2023 from the Mets.

A broken wrist cut Sanchez's 2023 season short, but he played reasonably well in the 72 games he did play for the Padres last season including cracking 19 homers. San Diego is interested in a reunion, but it doesn't look like the sides are close to a deal at the moment.

Blake Snell

The elephant in the room here is Blake Snell who was a headliner of this offseason's starting pitcher free agent class is among the biggest names left on the free agent market period. Snell took home the NL Cy Young Award in 2023 thanks to putting up a 2.25 ERA in 180 innings with 234 strikeouts. He definitely walked too many guys, but he was absolutely dominant aside from that.

While the walks are a concern for some teams, the biggest reason that Snell's free agency has moved so slowly this offseason is because his agent is Scott Boras and Boras is notorious for holding out for every cent he can get out of teams. However, Snell's market appears to be heating up with the Yankees, Giants, and Blue Jays all being connected to him. The Yankees even have an offer on the table, but it doesn't look like one that is going to entice Snell/Boras just yet.

Garrett Cooper

Finally, we come to Garrett Cooper. Cooper started the 2023 season with the Marlins, but the trade deadline saw the Padres acquire him along with Sean Reynolds in exchange for Ryan Weathers. The hope was that Cooper could regain the .800ish OPS form that he displayed from 2020-2022, but he only managed a .239/.323/.402 slash line in 133 plate appearances.

As a result of his subpar 2023 season, a good bit of the shine has come off of his free agent case. However, Cooper is still very adept at drawing walks and it looks like the Brewers are interested in signing him. However, they are considering a few other options at first base as well.

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