Padres Free Agent RHP Seth Lugo's Market Heating Up

Will the Padres lose another starter this winter?

As the offseason progresses, the San Diego Padres' need for starting pitching is real. The team is expected to lose multiple starters who took up much of the innings last season, including Blake Snell, Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo.

San Diego has already lost starter Nick Martinez to the Cincinnati Reds, and now another could go soon. It seems that the market for Lugo is heating up with the winter meetings starting and he is expected to receive a multi-year contract. 

MLB insider Jon Heyman of The New York Post is reporting multiple teams are looking into bringing Lugo in right now.

“Former Met Seth Lugo could wind up with the Mets’ main nemesis in Atlanta. The Braves are one of the teams in the bidding for the free agent. The Red Sox, Reds and Diamondbacks also have shown interest in Lugo.”

Per Jon Heyman of The New York Post

The veteran right-hander makes sense with the Braves as they look to add to their own rotation, and he could give them a quality middle-of-the-pack rotation piece. The Los Angeles Dodgers have also been linked with Lugo this offseason.

Lugo was solid for the Padres this past season, posting an ERA of 3.57 over 26 starts for the team. He also had a WHIP of 1.20 and he struck out 140 batters over 146.1 innings of work.

The former reliever joined the Padres last season with the promise that he would be given a chance to start games. He had formally just been a relief pitcher while with the New York Mets but wanted to switch to being a starter, and thrived at it in the process.

Lugo will provide whatever team he signs with a guy who will give them a chance to win each time out. He was very reliable for the Padres during the year, and his production will be missed going forward.