The Padres’ first answer to a depleted rotation is a spring audition for an Astros castoff

At the GM Meetings, someone asked A.J. Preller if the Padres needed to add three or four starting pitchers. “Keep going,” he said. A few hours later, the Padres signed Ryan Weiss. Well, there’s one more name on the depth chart. Yes, we’re going to keep counting starters.

Weiss is 29, made his big-league debut this year and put up a 7.62 ERA in nine appearances for Houston. The Astros took him off their 40-man roster in June, watched him clear waivers and declined his $5 million club option after the season. The Padres gave him a one-year major league deal worth a reported $1.85 million, with a club option for 2028. If that landed with a thud, look at the rotation he’s walking into…because there isn’t one.

Michael King opted out. The Padres declined Nick Pivetta’s option. Walker Buehler, Robbie Ray and Casey Mize are free agents, too. Joe Musgrove’s role is still up in the air, no one really knows what Yu Darvish is going to do except for Yu Darvish. Randy Vásquez is the only returning pitcher who made more than six starts for San Diego this year. Try writing out five names for April and see how fast you start penciling in guys you’d rather have competing for the last spot.

The Padres need starters they can pencil in now

We can see why Preller took the shot. Weiss had a 3.16 ERA over 46 starts for the Hanwha Eagles in Korea. He finished his year at Triple-A Sugar Land with 24 strikeouts in 19 2/3 innings and a 1.37 ERA over his last four outings. He throws in the mid-90s and has a nice sweeper and a changeup. Give him the ball in Peoria and see whether he can get big-league hitters to chase without giving out free passes. He walked more than 15 percent of the batters he faced with Houston.

The minor-league option is a big part of the appeal. If Weiss gets squeezed out in camp, the Padres can send him to El Paso and keep him stretched out. If he wins a job, they’ve found someone who can give Craig Stammen multiple. We’ll be glad to have that guy as a reserve stashed in AAA if the Opening Day starting rotation suddenly became riddled with injuries. We’d be a lot happier if San Diego had enough starters to make him earn that job.

That’s where the signing feels underwhelming. We know what a good outcome looks like for Weiss. If he throws strikes, puts together a strong spring and gives the Padres a real decision at the back of the rotation, then that’ll be great. Even if all of that happens, we’ll still be asking who takes King’s and Pivetta’s turn. Those are two separate jobs, and we’d like to see Preller fill them with pitchers Stammen can count on.

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