The Padres are on the hunt for starting pitching, Ken Rosenthal and Dennis Lin of The Athletic report. The club tried to acquire Trevor Bauer from the Indians as the 2019 regular season began and have spoken to the Blue Jays about Marcus Stroman. The Padres also continue to speak with Keuchel’s camp at Boras Corp.
Keuchel, 31, was the 2015 American League Cy Young Award winner. While he hasn’t quote reclaimed that level of success since, he does have a solid 3.77 ERA with 422 strikeouts and 153 walks across 518 1/3 innings in the three ensuing seasons. Keuchel would be an upgrade to just about every team’s starting rotation. That he remains a free agent -- as does closer Craig Kimbrel -- as the calendar flips to April should be embarrassing for the sport.
As presently constructed, the Padres’ rotation includes Joey Lucchesi, Eric Lauer, Chris Paddack, Matt Strahm, and Nick Margevicius.