Cardinals Rumors: Padres pursuing Adam Wainwright

Padres pursuing pitcher Adam Wainwright.

The St. Louis Cardinals remain in contact with free-agent pitcher Adam Wainwright, but he is drawing interest from multiple teams — including the San Diego Padres, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Wainwright has always felt like less of a certainty to return than fellow free agent Yadier Molina. While Molina is an almost irreplaceable player, Wainwright is expendable considering the amount of options available on the market. But those numbers continue to dwindle after Masahiro Tanaka signed with the Rakuten Eagles.

It is unlikely that Wainwright, or any other right-handed free-agent starting pitcher, signs until Trevor Bauer comes off the board. As soon as Bauer signs, however, there is expected to be a frenzy of signings.

Which will put Wainwright’s market into focus, and could result in him signing soon after. Even though he is in his upper-30s, he has proven to still be a effective pitcher and will be a good addition for any team on a one-year deal worth in the $8-10 million range.

It is surprising that the Padres are pursuing Wainwright, who Goold says have a “current” offer out to him. San Diego has already added Blake Snell, Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish via trade this offseason to a rotation that already features Dinelson Lamet. But there is a strong likelihood that teams will use six starters this upcoming season, so their pursuit of Wainwright does make sense.

But there is clear mutual interest between Wainwright and the Cardinals on a reunion. It is possible he takes a slight discount to return to St. Louis, especially if they retain Molina, who both have indicated they would like to continue to play together.

But the Padres being involved could complicate matters. And once Bauer signs, the Cardinals may need to move quickly so they don’t lose their longtime starting pitcher.