The San Diego Padres had a disappointing 79-83 season after battling some injuries in the 2021 season.

There is plenty of talent on the Padres roster but there are still improvements that they can make. The Padres are going to be in good hands for the next few years with young superstar Fernando Tatis leading the way.

San Diego doesn't have many moves they need to make this off-season after they spent a ton of money last year. They still have some areas that they can improve so let's take a look at some players they should look to add this offseason.

Three Players The Padres Should Sign During Free Agency

Kevin Gausman

Gausman had an elite season last year with the San Francisco Giants and he proved that he is one of the best starting pitchers in baseball. There were some questions with Kevin Gausman after his production with the “sticky stuff”, but he was able to prove people wrong about that with his performance the last two months.

The Padres don't necessarily need to make this move, but when there's an elite starting pitcher on the market and a team has money to spend, they need to do so.

They have an elite starting pitching rotation with Mike Clevinger, Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, and Dinelson Lamet. They also have Joe Musgrove, Chris Paddack, and Ryan Weathers.

San Diego might decide to call top prospect MacKenzie Gore up to the majors and let him get some experience. That would be good for his development and doesn't mean they can't go out and add someone else.

The Padres realized last season that injuries are a big part of the teams' success and that's why they need to go out and add some starting pitcher depth. Not only would Kevin Gausman be added depth, but he would be a potential ace.

They finished with the 18tth best ERA in baseball, 14th in FIP, and 17th in fWAR. A pitching staff that was supposed to be elite was below average because of injuries.

Nicholas Castellanos

Castellanos had one of the more impressive seasons from a position player last season. He had MVP-caliber numbers as he slashed .309/.362/.576. On top of his impressive averages, he was able to hit 34 home runs and 38 doubles while driving in 100 RBIs.

The only issue with Nick Castellanos is that he's going to get paid a lot of money this offseason. If the Padres want to make a deal with Nick Castellanos, they're going to have to move some other guys to make it work financially.

The Padres might decide that they want to keep some of their younger guys and continue building around Fernando Tatis. With them being in a win-now situation it wouldn't be a crazy idea to move on from some guys and free up some money from Nick Castellanos.

Castellanos is one of the best hitters in baseball and if the Padres want to win a world championship with Fernando Tatis in his prime, they need to go out and make as many must-win moves as possible. Castellanos should want to sign with a contender and the Padres are exactly that.

Factor in that San Diego is a great place to play and an awesome city, and Castellanos could very well want to be in a Padres uniform.

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Max Scherzer

Once again, the Padres are going to need some starting pitching depth. They saw it last year what can happen if your pitching isn't healthy and that results in a season for a club that has a ton of talent finishing under .500.

Max Scherzer has always been one of the best pitchers in baseball and he did exactly that when he went to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers after the trade deadline last season.

He's another guy who's late into his career and should want to sign with a contender. Being on the West Coast should be able to help this move as Scherzer has experience playing in Los Angeles for the last 6 months.

The Padres should be looking to bring in win-now pieces and Max Scherzer would be exactly that.

Expect the Padres to make a lot of moves again this offseason. There aren't a ton of additions that they can make but there still are a few additions to be made to help them solidify themselves as World Series contenders. They play in one of the toughest divisions in baseball in the National League West. If they want to win that division against the Los Angeles Dodgers, they need to make some upgrades.

Expect them to go out and sign some pitching depth and an elite offensive bat.