The Padres put the finishing touches on their deal with Nick Martinez yesterday, a three-year pact that keeps him right where he wants to be -- in San Diego. It’s an important signing. Martinez played such a vital role for San Diego in 2022: the do-everything man who pitched wherever and whenever the team needed him.
To start the 2023 season, that will be one place: in the rotation.
The Padres need starters, and it’s clear that even with their signing of Martinez, they’re not done. So here’s a question worth asking: How many more starting pitchers should the Padres acquire?
“We feel really good about the top of the rotation,” general manager A.J. Preller said at the General Managers Meetings earlier this month. “But every year you want to add starting pitching. You want to get depth. … We’re going to try to add to that rotation and give [manager Bob Melvin] as many options as possible from a starting standpoint.”
To answer that question, let’s first size up the current state of affairs on the Padres' pitching staff. Here’s how the rotation stands:
Yu Darvish
Joe Musgrove
Blake Snell
Martinez
And here are the depth options on the 40-man roster:
Adrian Morejon
Reiss Knehr
Ryan Weathers
Jay Groome
Pedro Avila
A few quick notes:
• If I were the Padres, I would do everything in my power to enter the season with a six-man rotation. Their use of a six-man staff in the first half of the 2022 season worked to perfection. It allowed their starters to pitch deeper into games, keeping their bullpen extremely fresh for the stretch run. Melvin was initially hesitant, but when he saw the way his pitchers responded, he was quick to embrace it. Plus, with 26-man rosters, a six-man rotation doesn’t burden a pitching staff nearly as much as it would with a 25-man squad.
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• We’ll probably learn a lot about how the organization views Morejon this winter and next spring. He’s the most intriguing of those depth options. Morejon was useful at times as a reliever and boasts electric stuff in the upper-90s. But he’s been inconsistent and has only established any form of rhythm while pitching in relief. It’ll be interesting to see how serious the Padres are in their intentions to transition Morejon back into the rotation. He’s never pitched more than 65 1/3 innings in a professional season.
• Martinez was so good in his relief role late last season that I’m sure there are some people who would love to see him used the same way in 2023. But as a free agent, Martinez earned his right to negotiate, and the Padres have told him they expect him to start. I think that’s the right plan -- at least for the beginning of the season. Let Martinez prove himself in the rotation. If September rolls around and Martinez is best suited back in the ‘pen, I’m sure he’d be amenable. But Martinez has earned the right to show what he’s got as a starter.
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Back to the question at hand. Here’s my verdict, based on all of the available evidence: The Padres should add two more starting pitchers.
Last week, MLB.com’s Mike Petriello dissected the strongest and weakest free-agent positions, and he came to this conclusion:
"Need a starting pitcher? Great. There are a few high-quality top-end guys, several above-average starters, and then a near-endless number of mid-to-back-rotation arms. Dozens of them, really. Have your choice."
With that in mind, I think the Padres should look to splurge on one starter -- whether they acquire him via trade or free agency. Then, pick up their No. 6 option from among the collection of mid-to-back-rotation arms that are so plentiful.
Oh, and regarding the former, the Padres did indeed meet with Kodai Senga last week, as The Athletic first reported. And, per sources, they are interested in the Japanese right-hander. A signing like that would be quite a start.
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Jorge Alfaro's five walk-off plate appearances are the most in one season in franchise history. But who holds the franchise single-season record for walk-off home runs?
A.) Scott Hairston
B.) Manny Machado
C.) Hunter Renfroe
D.) B.J. Upton
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• Some breakups are tough but inevitable, and that's probably how a lot of Padres fans felt last week when Alfaro was non-tendered, making him a free agent.
Alfaro's franchise walk-off record earned him a place in Padres lore. But his demeanor and personality took him to cult hero status.
There wasn't much playing time available for Alfaro in 2023, with Luis Campusano expected to slot into the backup catcher role. As such, Friday's announcement was largely expected. But I suspect Padres fans will remember Alfaro fondly for a long time, even though he only spent one season in San Diego.
• Martinez’s deal is a fascinating one. He’ll make $10 million in 2023, then is slated to make $8 million in ’24 and ’25 -- but he can opt out of the final two years of his deal. The Padres, however, could override that opt-out clause with a team option that would pay Martinez $16 million in ’24 and ’25.
In essence, if Martinez performs well enough as a starter to opt out, the team can keep him around by choosing to pay him $16 million per year in 2024 and ’25. That’s a fun clause for a player like Martinez, who really hasn’t had a shot to start regularly in the big leagues since 2017 with Texas, before he left for four seasons in Japan.
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“I think it rewards that versatility that I had last year and still leaves room for me to prove myself as a starter,” Martinez said. “Now it’s just: Go out and prove it. I don’t know if other teams would’ve been able to be as creative as A.J. and this team were in constructing this contract to give me the flexibility, the stability, as well as some room there to keep that hunger.”
• Reliever Tim Hill, broadcaster Mark Grant and CEO Erik Greupner were on hand, along with a number of front-office volunteers as the Padres gave away Thanksgiving turkeys and traditional sides to 1,000 underserved and military families on Monday.
The Padres Foundation does such excellent work year-round. In conjunction with the San Diego Food Bank and USO, this is one of its signature offseason events.
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D.) B.J. Upton
Upton's three walk-off home runs in 2016 are the most in Padres history -- and he needed only four months to do so, as he was dealt to Toronto at the Trade Deadline that year.
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Here's the third of Upton's three walk-off bombs, a no-doubter into the second level of the Western Metal Supply Co. Building to beat the Yankees. |
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