Free-Agent Hitting Options For The Padres Could Be Scarce

With the San Diego Padres' starting rotation currently looking as barren as grocery-store shelves when a hurricane is approaching, it's understandable that most of the offseason speculation regarding the team's free-agency plan has focused on the mound.

The team does, however, also have holes to fill elsewhere.

While third baseman Manny Machado, centerfielder Jackson Merrill and rightfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. are lineup givens, with star-in-the-making catcher Ethan Salas ready to join them, questions remain regarding the other four fielding positions and DH.

First, will San Diego try to retain free-agent first baseman Ty France? Second, could shortstop Xander Bogaerts be on the trade block? Could Jake Cronenworth be a candidate to be replaced at second base? Or could he slide to short if Bogaerts is traded and Tatis relocates full-time to second? Is Gavin Sheets viable as the left-handed-hitting half of a DH platoon? And who the heck is the leftfielder?

All of these questions will have to be answered in some form, but if president of baseball operation/GM A.J. Preller expects to find the answers solely through free agency, he may be sorely disappointed.

In what many are viewing as the weakest free-agency class in many years, no true game-changing bats along the lines of a Juan Soto, Shohei Ohtani and Bryce Harper will be available.

Let's take a position-by-position look at some the options the Padres can turn to to fill their holes:

• First Base. Resigning France may be the best option at the cold corner as he is coming off a career-best 4.5-WAR year at age 32 that saw him belt 21 home runs with 72 RBIs and an .865 OPS. No bad for a guy the Padres signed to a minor-league contract just before the season began.

An intriguing possibility is the Milwaukee Brewers' Jake Bauers, who the Padres got a first-hand look at during the NL Divisional Series. After kicking around with four teams in four seasons from 2018-23, Bauers found his groove in 2026, which was his third season with the Brewers. In 144 games, he hit .266 with 26 homers, 86 RBIs, 11 stolen bases, an .874 OPS and 3.3 WAR.

The Philadelphia Phillies' Alec Bohm, 30, could be an interesting possibility as he transitions fully to first base, but the remaining options for reliable starters at first include a couple of aging players in the New York Yankees' Paul Goldschmidt and Minnesota Twins' Josh Bell, and Nathaniel Lowe of the Cleveland Indians.

• Left Field. The one name in the class that has at least some star potential is Randy Arozarena of the Seattle Mariners. Now 32, the reliably consistent Arozarena has posted six consecutive 20-homer/20-steal seasons, the most recent being the serendipitous 26 homers and 26 steals he compiled for the 2026 Mariners.

He also added a .281/.381/.484 batting line, good for an OPS of .865 that was the best of his career in seasons in which he played more than 25 games.

He earned $15.65 million in 2026 and a raise is guaranteed with some estimates saying his new deal will fall somewhere around the 3-year, $66-million pact that Teoscar Hernandez signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2025.

A tantalizing name could be Teruaki Sato, the 2026 MVP in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball League. He had 38 homers (after 40 in 2025), 39 doubles, three triples  and eight steals in being named Japan's top player this year.

Other sure-fire leftfield starters who will be available are Seiya Suzuki and Ian Happ of the Chicago Cubs and Taylor Ward of the Mariners.

• Middle Infield. Should Preller decide to really shake things up and activate the Tatis-to-second or Bogaerts-to-someone-else plans, there are only a few solid options.

At second, old friend Luis Arraez is due to depart the Phillies, and he could also be an answer at first base, while Brandon Lowe slugged 33 homers for the Pittsburgh Pirates this season, the second straight year he has eclipsed that milestone. Jazz Chisholm of the Yankees, who could also conceivably fill an outfield spot, is expected to be available, along with Gleyber Torres of the Detroit Tigers.

The list of available shortstops is sparse with the top name being J.P Crawford, another erstwhile Mariner, with Mauricio Dubon, who experienced a renaissance season at age 32 with the Atlanta Braves, the likely second-best option; Dubon also possesses the versatility to play second and in the outfield.