The Padres’ perfect free agent target would come with sweet sweet revenge on the Dodgers.
The San Diego Padres came up just short of beating the Los Angeles Dodgers during the 2024 postseason. The Padres were the closest thing the league saw to somebody beating the powerhouse Dodgers during the postseason, as Los Angeles rolled through the New York Mets and New York Yankees in the NLCS and World Series, respectively.
Now the Padres are left with an offseason to improve their roster so they can dethrone the Dodgers in 2025. It’s going to be quite an uphill battle though, as the Dodgers will improve in 2025 simply by getting healthy. Los Angeles will return Shohei Ohtani, Dustin May and Tyler Glasnow to the mound, fully healthy, by opening day.
What can the Padres do to combat this?
For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop between now and the MLB offseason.
Signing Walker Buehler tabbed as Padres ‘Perfect transaction’ this winter
The Padres need to add a starting pitcher to round out the rotation, preferably one with a high ceiling. They already have a loaded pitching staff of Dylan Cease, Yu Darvish, and Michael King. But after watching Joe Musgrove go down with an arm injury during the postseason, San Diego needs to add on, preferably for cheap.
ESPN insider Jeff Passan recently looked into some of the best fits around the league, linking a plethora of different teams to moves that fit their organization. When he got to San Diego, he agreed they needed to add a pitcher, but he picked on in specific: Los Angeles Dodgers World Series hero Walker Buehler.
“Getting Sasaki would alleviate a potential salary crunch, but if that doesn’t happen, and if they can’t line up on a big-name trade, there are enough options in free agency to fill out the rotation properly. One of them, in fact, would need to trek only 120 miles down the 5,” Passan wrote.
Buehler to San Diego would be quite the story. Going from one hated rival to the other in the second biggest rivalry in the entire sport would be quite the villain story. A lot of insiders and experts expect Buehler to end up back in Los Angeles for 2025, but after the Dodgers just inked May to a one-year deal, it’s not looking as likely.
If Buehler does end up elsewhere, the Padres may be the perfect Hollywood ending to this Padres-Dodgers story that’s been carrying on for years now. The righty struggled last year as he recovered from another arm injury, but he found his stride down the stretch, which could bode well for a successful 2025 season.
Popular former Blue Jays pitcher Yusei Kikuchi signs big three-year deal with Los Angeles Angels.
Starter had been traded to the Houston Astros after spending two and a half years in Toronto.
His time pitching with the Blue Jays helped make Yusei Kikuchi a desired free agent and ultimately led to the richest contract of his career.
The signing was one of the first major moves in the free agency season and was earned after a strong first half with the Jays and an even better second half with the Astros.
Signed to a three-year $36 million deal with the Jays prior to the 2022 season, Kikuchi struggled in his first season, but became an integral part of the Toronto rotation in 2023, especially after Alek Manoah struggled.
He was effective again in 2024, but with an expiring contract and the team out of contention, the 33-year-old southpaw was dealt to the Astros at the deadline.
During his time in Houston, Kikuchi took another jump forward, pitching to a 2.70 ERA with the playoff-bound Astros. It was good timing for Kikuchi to put up the best season of his career.
While with the Jays, Kikuchi was a fan and clubhouse favourite, a feeling that was mutual to the point where the pitcher spent most of last winter in the city, a rarity for players on the team.
“The city means a lot not just to me, but to my family,” Kikuchi said in an interview with the Toronto Sun last season. “We all enjoy Toronto and the Toronto fans. Putting on the Blue Jays uniform you get the feeling that you’re representing a full nation.”
Of course there was a high-profile flashpoint moment during Kikuchi’s team in Toronto when he was unwittingly drawn into a story related to the team’s pursuit of his compatriot, Shohei Ohtani.
By virtue of his nationality as much as anything, Kikuchi was erroneously attached to the Jays courtship of the superstar who eventually signed and won a World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
