The Padres have started to chip away at their offseason work, and Tuesday brought the first concrete move: San Diego signed right-handed pitcher Ryan Weiss to a major league contract.
It’s the kind of addition that speaks directly to a glaring issue from last season. Padres starters combined for the fourth-fewest innings in baseball, a workload gap that left the bullpen carrying too much of the load once October arrived. Weiss is coming off a 2025 season in Korea Baseball Organization in which he posted a 2.87 ERA over 30 starts, and he also made nine appearances, including two starts, with the Houston Astros at the major league level in 2026.
While the pitching staff remains a clear priority, the Padres are also being linked to offense as the offseason unfolds. A team insider revealed three free-agent targets, and two of them are bats that could give the lineup a needed jolt rather than another arm for the rotation or bullpen.
One of the names tied to San Diego is Dodgers free agent left-hander Alex Vesia, a possible fit if the Padres lose bullpen staple Adrian Morejon, who continues to draw heavy interest this offseason. Vesia would come at a lower cost, and according to Sports Illustrated's Nicholas Selbe and Will Laws, he would still bring plenty to the table for San Diego.
"It’s difficult to find a reliever as consistent as Vesia, who’s developed into one of the sport’s most dependable southpaws since becoming a fixture in the Dodgers’ bullpen in 2021," Laws wrote. "Over his six years in Los Angeles, Vesia has a 2.87 ERA with a 32.6% strikeout rate in 332 ⅓ innings, and has remarkably put up a zero in 28 of his 31 postseason appearances.
"He even showcased an improved changeup this year to help him deal with righties more effectively. The only thing preventing Vesia from getting a shot as a closer is his propensity for walks (fourth percentile in MLB in 2026), but he otherwise features a remarkably risk-free profile for a reliever and should be a popular man on the open market."
The latest Padres chatter also includes a reported push for Japanese talent, with San Diego said to be interested in outfielder Seiya Suzuki, starter Shota Imanaga, and third baseman Teruaki Sato. Elsewhere around the organization, there’s been discussion about Scott Boras using Peter Seidler’s Padres legacy in arguing against a salary cap, along with questions about what an impending MLB lockout could mean for the team’s spending and future.
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