Good Morning San Diego: Padres have not made recent additions to the roster, but they have been active

The San Diego Padres started the new year on the right note, reaching contracts agreements with six arbitration eligible players. Mason Miller, Jason Adam and Adrian Morejon were included in that group and were joined by catcher Freddy Fermin, designated hitter/left fielder/first baseman Gavin Sheets and starter JP Sears. Cheri Bell of Gaslamp Ball provided details on each of these agreements as well as information about the upcoming celebration of life for Randy Jones and a prospect update along with various other topics in her Padres notes.

Padres News:

• According to Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon from The Athletic, the Padres “want to add a starter, but are telling the representatives for several free agents that they are not yet ready to move.” Could that be A.J. Preller waiting for prices to come down? Could it mean a trade is in the works to clear payroll? It remains to be seen, but most Padres fans are ready for a move of any kind.

Baseball News:

• Alex Bregman and the Chicago Cubs agreed to a five-year, $175 million contract that does not contain opt-outs that will take him to Wrigley Field for the 2026 season. Bregman was pursued by the Cubs last offseason and instead went to the Boston Red Sox for the 2025 season. This offseason, Chicago was able to outbid Boston and land the third baseman.
• It was reported Saturday that the New York Yankees and free agent Cody Bellinger have “reached an impasse” and that the Yankees do not expect to re-sign the left-handed slugger.
• The Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies made a rare trade within the division. The Diamondbacks acquired a minor league pitcher and sent outfielder Jake McCarthy to the Rockies.
• The Atlanta Braves are reuniting with reliever Tyler Kinley. The sides agreed to a one-year, $4.25 million contract for 2026.
• The Los Angeles Dodgers agreed to a one-year, $1.2 million contract with Andy Ibanez.
• The Cincinnati Reds signed former Rockies first baseman Michael Toglia to a minor league contract. He split 2025 between the majors and minor leagues.