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The Padres are still looking to improve their team this off-season, even if the moves aren't as exciting or include big names like the ones prior. They signed 37 year old RHP Jose Valverde to a minor league contract over the weekend along with Scott Elbert and Marcus Mateo to hopefully bolster the bullpen if they make the team at some point this season.
The Mets are reportedly likely to trade their end of the rotation starter RHP Dillon Gee before Spring Training. Ken Rosenthal reports that the Colorado Rockies, the San Francisco Giants and the Padres are all interested in trading for Gee.
Rockies, Padres, Giants Interested In Dillon Gee – MLB Trade Rumors
Of course, both Luebke and Johnson are on the mend from Tommy John surgery, so they’re unlikely to be ready for the beginning of the season. And, Cashner, Morrow and Johnson all have lengthy injury histories, so perhaps it shouldn’t be too surprising that the Friars are looking for more depth.
#Rockies talking to free-agent RHP Vogelsong, per @jonmorosi. Rox, #SFGiants, #Padres also looking at trade for #Mets’ Gee, per sources.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 12, 2015
Meanwhile some improvement could come from within since 1B Yonder Alonso says that he finally feels 100% after a season ending surgery to repair a tendon in his wrist. He was a doubles machine in his first season with the Padres but has been a disappoint ever since.
Padres' Yonder Alonso feels '100 percent' following forearm surgery | UTSanDiego.com
"I feel 100 percent, making strides toward obviously being ready for spring training," Alonso said. "I feel amazing. ... I’m pain-free, which, for me, my goodness, was like taking a monkey off my back. It was a stressful period I went through."