The Padres added two of the relievers they sought Wednesday, hours before what will be an apparent shutdown of the business of baseball.
Owners are expected to lock out players by the end of the night, when the current collective bargaining agreement expires.
The Padres beat that looming deadline with the signing of right-hander Luis Garcia to a two-year deal and right-hander Robert Suarez to a one-year contract. Garcia, who will be 35 in January, is guaranteed $7 million over two years. Terms of Suarez's pact were not immediately known, but it was expected he would get between $5 and $7 million.
Garcia spent last season with the St. Louis Cardinals, posting a 3.24 ERA and 0.99 WHIP in 33 1/3 innings (34 games). He worked primarily in the eighth and ninth innings over the season's last month, saving two games and earning eight holds in his final 16 appearances.
He has a 4.16 ERA in 348 1/3 innings (360 games) in a nine-year career spent with four teams.
Suarez has never pitched for a major league organization. The 30-year-old Venezuelan has played in Mexico and Japan. He posted a 1.65 ERA and 0.90 WHIP in 114 2/3 innings for the Hanshin Tigers the past two seasons. He did not allow a home run to any of the 229 batters he faced last year and allowed just two homers to 208 batters in 2020.
The Padres are looking to rebuild a bullpen that wilted at the end of a 2021 season in which its members were largely overworked. That bullpen on Wednesday officially lost closer Mark Melancon, who led the majors with 39 saves last season. Melancon signed a two-year $14 million contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Padres' other priority is acquiring someone to play left field. It is almost certain that Tommy Pham, their primary starter there in '21, will sign elsewhere.
The lockout only prevents players on a team's 40-man roster from working. So it can be assured that Padres President of Baseball Operations A.J. Preller will continue talking to other general managers during the shutdown.
However, no trades can be completed until a new CBA is ratified. Team executives are also prohibited from talking with players' agents. That prompted a relative flurry of what was termed by people in the league as "checking in" on players Wednesday so that they are primed to be in position when the lockout ends.
The Padres aren't considered close to adding an outfielder, but they are said by people familiar with their plans to be considering a big-name hitter for the spot. Included in their conversations in the past few days were representatives for Nick Castellanos, who hit .309 with a .939 OPS for the Cincinnati Reds last season.
