Coming off one of the best seasons of his career, Marcus Stroman figures to be one of the most sought-after starting pitchers in free agency. 

Per Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Stroman is expected to be one of the pitchers targeted by the San Diego Padres this offseason. 

The Padres collapsed down the stretch this season in part because of injuries and poor performances from their pitching staff. They finished 79-83 despite being 18 games over .500 as late as Aug. 10. 

General manager A.J. Preller has tried to stockpile starters to boost San Diego's roster. He acquired Yu Darvish, Mike Clevinger and Blake Snell in separate trades between August and December 2020. 

Clevinger made four starts with the Padres after the trade last season, but he underwent Tommy John surgery in the offseason and missed all of 2021. Darvish posted the highest ERA of his career in a season in which he made at least 30 starts (4.22). 

Snell actually had a fantastic second half in 2021 after having a 4.99 ERA before the All-Star break. The 2018 American League Cy Young winner posted a 3.24 ERA with 77 strikeouts and 36 hits allowed in 58.1 innings during the second half.

All three of those pitchers are still under contract with the Padres for next season. Adding Stroman to that group would give them a potentially dominant starting rotation if Darvish and Snell get back on track and Clevinger has a successful return from elbow reconstruction surgery. 

Stroman tied his career high with 33 starts this season. The 30-year-old had a 3.02 ERA and 1.15 WHIP in 179 innings for the New York Mets.