Padres are reportedly a strong contender for star pitcher Freddy Peralta, potentially bolstering their rotation in a significant offseason move.
The San Diego Padres are taking a slow approach once again this offseason, although it seems to be only a matter of time before GM AJ Preller make a move, or two, or three.
The re-signing of pitcher Michael King was a big one, and with February right around the corner, the Padres are now linked to another big name.
Reports surfaced on Tuesday that the Padres, Boston Red Sox, New York Mets and New York Yankees were linked for a possible trade for Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Freddy Peralta.
And, Hector Gomez mentioned the Padres as a "strong contender."
That certainly makes sense, and Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic recently wrote that the Padres could be targeting another pitcher, although it might take time to come to fruition.
"The Padres also want to add a starter, but are telling the representatives for several free agents that they are not yet ready to move, according to people familiar with those discussions. The holdup might be the Padres wanting to clear money, perhaps with a trade of right-hander Nick Pivetta, an idea they have entertained this offseason."
Sammon and Rosenthal also added that the Brewers might want a young pitcher who is major league ready, so it remains to be seen if that is somebody the Padres have willing to trade.
Peralta turns 30 years old in June, but he is coming off a strong season where he had a 2.70 ERA with a 17-6 record with 204 strikeouts, so he is a top-tier starter who could instantly give the San Diego rotation a boost.
The issue is that the Padres depleted many of their young starting pitchers over the past couple of years, so that could be a sticking point for the Brewers.
The Yankees just acquired Ryan Weathers in a trade with the Miami Marlins on Tuesday, and the New York Mets are in the running for star free agent Kyle Tucker, so it seems those teams' priorities could be elsewhere.
The thing that Preller does time and time again is put together a loaded package to land big names, so there could be some movement in one way or another coming out of San Diego.
In a perfect world, adding Peralta to a rotation that includes King and Joe Musgrove would be a big boost, not to mention Nick Pivetta if he survives the trade rumblings.