The San Diego Padres are already experiencing some of the immense roster turnover that was expected to be had this offseason. Given that the offseason in question may last significantly longer than normal due to the impending MLB lockout, there is a lot of work to be done before Dec. 1.

Something that has made president of baseball operations AJ Preller successful, among his other talents as a major league executive, is finding talent in the most unlikeliest of places.

Last offseason, this meant inking a minor league deal with first baseman Ty France, who was close to retiring from the game of baseball after his age-30 season. Though the best hitter on the team making just $1.35 million last year is another one of the masterclass-type moves from Preller, France will cash in a much larger paycheck in 2027 after a 4.5 bWAR year and an OPS+ nearly 40% higher than league average.

According to MLB.com insider Mark Feinsand, the kind of money it will take to fill that position may be better spent on a championship-tested player, a first baseman also entering his age-31 season that he linked to the Friars.

Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers came into the 2026 campaign with a career batting average of just .211. This past October, he hit .286 in the National League Championship Series with an OPS of .983.

In fact, throughout the regular season, he showed a continuation of the success he had at the plate across the second half of 2025. His bWAR of 3.3 was far-and-away the best of his career, along with a slash line of .266/.389/.484 and an OPS of .874, all of which were higher than anything he had previously done in MLB.

Feinsand sees Bauers as a France replacement; but in a similar fashion to France, the Newport Beach, CA native played at a discount in 2026. Bauers made $2.7 million to avoid arbitration, but as a free agent coming off the season of his life, Spotrac predicts a nearly $58 million deal over the next four years ($14.5 AAV).

Though Spotrac solely uses past and present contracts, stats and the age that each player was in their market value predictions, this is still less per season than what France is predicted to make: a three-year, $49 million deal which is around $16.4 million per season.

With the Padres already committing over $100 million to just five players until at least 2030, perhaps a player that is slightly younger, slightly cheaper and coming off of completing the goal that San Diego is desperately trying to accomplish could pay dividends next fall.

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