Padres interested in Dan Haren and Shaun Marcum

Padres general manager Josh Byrnes admitted earlier this month that Dan Haren was among the “eight to 10” starting pitchers the club was very interested in. Bill Center of the San Diego-Union Tribune said in his weekly webchat yesterday that the Padres haven’t wavered on that, though they will likely have to wait to see if he’ll fall in their price range.

The Padres are still interested in Haren. It’s going to be a wait and see game. I’m sure the Padres have a ceiling on what they might spend for Haren. Josh Byrnes and Haren have an excellent working relationship. But this is a money game. Byrnes is playing it close to the vest. Towers and Hoyer would usually tell you how much they had to spend on free agents. Byrnes is much keener on keeping his options secret.

The Padres aren’t a realistic destination for a top starting pitcher like Zack Greinke or Anibal Sanchez, but they could make sense for a pitcher like Haren, who is coming off a down year and carries health questions. Center also notes that the team has interest in Shaun Marcum, who falls under a similar classification. The Padres are moving the fences at PETCO Park for 2013, but it should still be a pretty nice place for pitchers to reestablish their value.