The Padres’ cover has been blown.
After two offseasons of essentially sneaking up on baseball by signing Eric Hosmer and Manny Machado in February, the Padres are now seen as players in free agency from the start of the offseason.
And as the 2020 hot stove gets lit, it seems clear they will be cooking again.
Whether the Padres land one of the prized starting pitchers or simply add a bat, multiple people in the organization indicated over the past few days that the team will be in position to make a run at Stephen Strasburg, the World Series MVP who on Saturday opted out of his contract with the Nationals.