There haven’t been many notable free agent signings yet, but that will likely change as the Winter Meetings approach.
The National League West has proven to be one of the best divisions in baseball. The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2025 World Series to secure back-to-back titles, but the rest of the division is trying to dethrone the juggernauts.
Not only did the NL West produce the World Series champions, but it also featured another playoff team in 2025. The San Diego Padres finished with a 90-72 record and earned a wild-card matchup against the Chicago Cubs. Unfortunately, the Padres lost the series in three games.
The San Francisco Giants and the Arizona Diamondbacks were also in the playoff race down the stretch, but ultimately couldn’t take the final wild card spot from the Cincinnati Reds. The Colorado Rockies were 43-119, the worst record in the majors by a significant margin.
*This is a PREDICTION, not a report.*
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Padres Look to Dethrone Dodgers in NL West
Although the Giants and Diamondbacks are playoff-caliber teams, the Padres pose the biggest threat to dethrone the Dodgers in the NL West. San Diego could be a missing piece or two away from making it a reality.
Padres Should Sign Marcus Stroman in Free Agency
A strong starting rotation can be the difference in winning a World Series. The Dodgers’ rotation had the fifth-best ERA in the majors in 2025 and helped carry the team to the title, led by Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Shohei Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow.
The Padres, on the other hand, had the 15th-worst ERA among starting rotations during the regular season. It will inevitably get worse if Dylan Cease walks in free agency.
If the Padres don’t want to spend big money on a starting pitcher in free agency, there are plenty of cheaper options available. It could make sense to take a chance on a veteran starter, like Marcus Stroman, to help the team try to win a World Series in 2026.
Stroman spent the last two seasons with the New York Yankees after signing a $37 million contract before the 2024 season. The 34-year-old will likely be in the market for a one or two-year deal this offseason.
It didn’t quite work out for Stroman and the Yankees, but it wasn’t long ago that he was regarded as an above-average starter. The right-hander is a two-time All-Star, once with the Cubs in 2023 and the other with the Blue Jays in 2019, and he finished eighth in American League Cy Young voting in 2017.
Without Cease, the Padres have Nick Pivetta and Joe Musgrove at the top of their rotation. Randy Vasquez put together a solid year in 2025, but the Padres could use an upgrade over JP Sears and Matt Waldron, who are projected to round out the rotation.
Stroman is unlikely to command a large contract given his age, recent struggles on the mound and knee issues this past season. His next contract should be significantly less than the $71 million contract he signed with the Cubs before the 2022 season and his two-year deal with the Yankees.
He may not be the pitcher he once was, but Stroman could have just enough left in the tank to help a win-now, championship-caliber team like the Padres.
Marcus Stroman Career Stats
Stroman has a 90-87 record with a 3.79 ERA across his 11-year career. He led the majors with 33 starts in 2021, in which he owned a career-best 3.02 ERA with the New York Mets.
Stroman produced four consecutive seasons of sub-4.00 ERAs between 2019 and 2023 with the Blue Jays, Mets and Cubs. He opted out of the 2020 COVID-19 season.