1x Free Agent Every NL West Team Must Sign to Catch the Los Angeles Dodgers
A Blog By Brett
San Diego Padres
San Diego is the most interesting of the bunch. On one hand, they have players like Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, Mason Miller, and Jackson Merrill returning to the fold in 2026. On the other hand, there might be a change in ownership sooner rather than later, and two of their top starters, Dylan Cease and Michael King, are hitting the open market.
The lineup is stacked with talent. It is the arms where I would put my money down on San Diego management to address this offseason. It is unclear how aggressively the Padres will attempt to re-sign Cease or King, but they need to do something about the rotation if they do not get one or either of these two starters back.
The more I think about a starter who would fit in perfectly in San Diego, the more I think Framber Valdez. He is going to command a ton of money, but Valdez is a prominent starter. Not to mention, he is a southpaw if the Padres let King walk. With players like Machado and Tatis Jr. on the roster, the Padres have shown they are willing to work with players with complications.
Yes, Framber Valdez crossed up his own catcher last year (which is absurd!), but I do think this was a “heat of the moment” type episode out of Valdez. If you follow baseball, the industry has been talking about how his actions may have cost him some money this offseason, which I buy into, but he is still going to get paid in some regard. Why not to a team that is willing to spend (for now!), and has dealt with behavioral issues in the recent past?
Arizona Diamondbacks
Arizona had a nightmare scenario in the bullpen last season. They had three players go down due to a season-ending injury in the closer role. Not to mention they lost Corbin Burnes to injury as well, whom they went out and signed last offseason to a massive contract.
Even with multiple significant injuries, the Diamondbacks were able to put together an 80-82 season in a rather tough division. Arizona is similar to San Francisco for me in this division. They have pieces that make them dangerous, but they need to add to the roster to be a serious threat.
Adding an elite closer seems to be the clear-cut choice following last year’s nightmare would be the easy choice, but I do not see the Diamondbacks going out and spending a fortune on a reliever. My prediction is that they go out and find themselves another starter with Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly both hitting the open market. Adding Zach Eflin could pay dividends for this club. The contract itself wouldn’t be crazy, and the team could allocate more funds to finding another quality starter or to reloading the bullpen.
San Francisco Giants
Buster Posey is not messing around. Additions of Willy Adames and Rafael Devers show that Posey is looking to build a winner. Not to mention Posey is betting big with the hiring of former University of Tennessee coach, Tony Vitello, to be the new skipper in San Francisco.
The Giants are a respectable team, but to make that jump into “contender” territory, they need to make a few more moves. One of those moves needs to be a big splash.
Adding another impact bat to the fold could be the move to get San Francisco into the playoffs in 2026. I think if the Giants can convince Eugenio Suarez to sign a team-friendly deal, it could pay dividends to this lineup and overall the team’s success.
Let’s face it, Suarez was not impressive after being acquired by Seattle at the deadline last season. His age is starting to show, and I do not think he is going to get the money he was eyeing at the beginning of 2025 when he was red-hot to start the year.
If Posey could get Suarez to buy in at a lower total money contract but higher AAV, the Giants could allocate other funds to bolster the rotation and/or bullpen to make a playoff push in 2026 and beyond.
Colorado Rockies
Let’s be honest. Colorado needs an entirely new team, coaching staff, farm system, analytics team, and owner to compete in this division. I do not see the Rockies having a shot to make the playoffs, let alone win the division, anytime soon.
The Rockies have always had trouble putting together a solid rotation. Partially due to the external interest of going to one of the most hitter-friendly ballparks in Major League Baseball, where pitchers go to die.
One player who could help them as they rebuild is Dylan Cease. The odds that Cease would sign a deal with Colorado are slim to none, but Colorado could afford to overpay him now to secure his services. Cease would be the frontline starter the Rockies could depend on to throw over 170 innings a year for the next five seasons.
Adding Cease to the mix would not solve all of Colorado’s issues, but could help stop the bleeding, all the while securing an arm that would put up decent ratios while providing a foundation to the starting rotation.