San Diego Padres strengthen their powerful lineup by signing veteran Andújar to a one-year deal.

As reported by MLB's official site, the Padres have reached a one-year, $4 million agreement with right-handed veteran Miguel Andújar. This deal appears to finalize the team's offensive roster. According to MLB reporter Mark Feinsand, the contract includes up to $2 million in performance incentives.

Andújar, who will turn 31 this March, played last season for both the Athletics and the Cincinnati Reds, posting a .318 batting average and an OPS of 0.822. However, he missed over a month due to an oblique strain, appearing in only 94 games. He has experience at first base, third base, and left field, but with the Padres, he is most likely to serve as a designated hitter and pinch hitter.

At a Padres fan event last Saturday, one of the highlights was new manager Craig Stammen tentatively naming Gavin Sheets as the team's primary first baseman. Last season, Sheets mainly served as a designated hitter and only started 11 games at first base, filling in defensively in left field when needed.

Sheets is expected to see a significant increase in first base starts this season, which will leave the designated hitter spot open.

This opens the door for Andújar.

He is projected to start as the designated hitter against left-handed pitchers and might also rotate with Sheets at first base (Sheets could rest against lefties). This strategy theoretically allows the Padres to add another right-handed batter to the lineup, such as Luis Campusano.

However, as Stammen mentioned on Saturday, the designated hitter role will almost certainly be a rotating position, and Andújar’s addition won’t change that.

“This is likely to be a flexible spot throughout the season, allowing players like Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, Fernando Tatis Jr., Ramón Laureano, and Jackson Merrill to rest by serving as the designated hitter,” Stammen said. “I believe it’s a strategy to keep players in better shape over the course of the season.”

Whether Andújar can earn starting opportunities against right-handed pitching is worth watching. Last season, his OPS against lefties (0.986) was 0.227 points higher than against righties. Ultimately, he may compete with fellow Korean newcomer Sung-Mun Song for the final starting spot in the lineup against right-handed pitchers (Andújar is expected to start regularly against lefties).

If Andújar begins the season as a bench player, he will undoubtedly get pinch-hitting chances. He has long excelled in this role, posting a career OPS of 0.833 as a substitute.

Andújar’s impressive stats last season may be somewhat influenced by favorable matchups, but his hitting style suits the Padres’ home field, Petco Park — a venue that generally favors right-handed hitters who pull the ball.

He doesn’t walk much, but he is one of the league’s best contact hitters and has some power potential, though replicating his 2018 performance—when he ranked just behind Shohei Ohtani in the AL Rookie of the Year voting—might be difficult. That year he hit 27 home runs, but didn’t reach double digits again until last season’s 10 homers.

Offensively, the team may now be complete. They might add another catcher to compete with Freddy Fermin for a backup role; currently, Campusano and Blake Hunt are vying for that spot.

Signing Andújar has addressed the top offensive priority—a player capable of covering both first base and designated hitter. Now the Padres can focus on their starting pitching staff.

With Nick Pivetta, Joe Musgrove, and Michael King, the Padres have a strong front-end rotation, but depth remains uncertain.

Randy Vásquez appears likely to secure a rotation spot, while JP Sears, Matt Waldron, and non-roster invitees Triston McKenzie and Marco Gonzales will compete for the final slot.

Given the injury histories of Musgrove and King, the Padres will almost certainly seek to add another starter. Otherwise, after Tuesday’s signing, the roster may be mostly set.

Of course, under the leadership of GM A.J. Preller, the team could still make adjustments—especially as spring training progresses. Over the past four years, Preller has consistently added key starting pitchers after spring training began (such as Pivetta in 2025, Dylan Cease in 2024, Michael Wacha in 2023, and Sean Manaea in 2022).