The Padres have agreed to a two-year contract with free-agent starting pitcher Garrett Richards.
The 30-year-old right-hander underwent Tommy John surgery in July and is not expected to pitch this season, so he is certainly not the veteran who will fill the need the team has identified in its rotation.
Richards has started just 28 games (1382/3 innings) in the past three seasons due to various arm ailments.
When healthy, he has been effective.
Richards has a 3.15 ERA with 1.17 walks and hits per innings pitched over his past 86 starts, dating to the beginning of the 2014 season. That includes a 3.66 ERA and 1.34 WHIP in 16 starts in 2018.
Terms of the deal are not known, but the Padres are obviously banking on Richards to be part of their 2020 campaign.
Jon Heyman reported an agreement has been reached. Jeff Passan reported the two-year deal is worth about $15 million in guaranteed money with a maximum value of about $18 million.
