The MLB Winter GM meetings are underway in Las Vegas.

A busy and most important time if you are the General Manager of the San Diego Padres, the team that sells itself as a World Series hopeful, but a team that has never gotten to the Fall Classic under its architect AJ Preller.

There’s always ‘Wait till Next Year’ hopes, and with a core batting order of solid veteran, but very expensive players, there’s always a chance.  

But now we are at a cross roads of a winter with decisions coming on so many free agent pitchers the Padres had on their staff a year ago and the year before that too.

The biggest issue is they may have tried before the GMs meetings opening to re-sign Michael King and Adrian Morejon, but whatever was offered was not acceptable to the ace of the staff and a future closer.

Now they are on the open market and rumors are rampant that King has been in contact with 5-other teams, headlined by the Cubs-White Sox-his hometown Red Sox, the Mets and Braves.

If the price tag goes north of (30M), the Padres are likely out of the bidding.  If it becomes a deal with a 5-year term attached to it, does San Diego stay in the bidding.

Morejon is being pursued by the Phillies and Yankees, both with a hiistory of overpaying.  Are the Friars going to give him a pay hike from his (3.8M) to (20M) on a multi year deal?  Morejon has not rejected their qualifying offers of (1Y-23.1M), but that is just one year, while the outside offers will be for 3-to-5 years.

Where does Nick Pivetta fit in, ditto for Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove. How many pitchers, with a history of elbow-forearm issues, can you carry on your starting rotation?

How do you address Casey Mize, his talent-his psyche in what might be a revisit to see if they can recapture what he was during good years in Detroit, for last summer was bad at Petco Park.

Robbie Ray was a huge disappointment but there is the age-vs-experience argument there.

If the worst case scenario happens and King and Morejon exit, what are you going to do,you being appointed the Consulting GM to Preller.

The next layer down of potential free agents are proven, but not equal to what might be leaving San Diego.

Nick Martinez is coming off a marvelous season, but he is no King.

Freddy Peralta was dumped in Milwaukee and the Mets, found himself in Tampa-but how much does he have left?

Sonny Gray is coming off a career year in Boston, but before that was some good-some bad in Oakland-Minnesota-St Louis

Foster Griffin pitched well in spurts in Cleveland, but they did not keep him.

Trevor Rodgers rebuilt his career, but pitcher poor Baltimore could not convince him to stay.

Shoto Imanaga came from Japan, pitched well, then have injury issues, and carries a question mark about durability.

Kevin Gausman has 100,000 miles on his arm-and you wonder how much gas is left

Shane Bieber is no longer what he was in Cleveland.  Clay Holmes is searching to be what he once was.

Dustin May may be last year’s Walker Buehler and has competed well despite his surgeries.

Zach Eflin-the ex Oriole is coming off surgeries.

Mike Siroka has moved alot and never been able to grasp what he was when he started a promising career.

Colin Rea is just an extra arm-back of the rotation guy.

The Padres search for bullpen help might not bring much, for Kenley Jansen, Emilio Pagan, Evan Philip look now like journeymen with high ERAs, stars of yesteryear.  Revisiting with David Bednar at a higher price makes no sense.

The unique group might be out of Japan, but are you getting a Dice Matsuzaka, a Yu Darvish or some marginal guy in Kaima Tar-Seibue or Hiroki Itazh-Nippon Ham Fighters?

A different argument might be to turn to the trade table and see if indeed the Friars can find a partner in Cincinnati (Hunter Greene), Pittsburgh (Brad Keller) or Seattle (George Kirby-Bryce Miller).  But then again what does Preller have he can trade in a strip mined farm system.

So it’s up to you to sort this out, if the worst case scenario shows up at your Padres front door, and King and Morejon go somewhere else.

Fans always have opinions.  Now your chance to be the General Manager in waiting.  You are at the table, what are you going to do?

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