The Padres' Top Ten Free Agent Signings, Part 2: The Moores, Fowler, & Seidler Ownership Years

[Joe Naiman]

Part one of the San Diego Padres’ top 10 free-agent signings over the 50 off-seasons of free agency addressed five free agents signed while the Kroc family owned the Padres.

The other five free agents among the top ten were signed during the John Moores, Ron Fowler, and Peter Seidler ownership years. None of the free agents signed when Tom Werner was the Padres’ primary owner rank among the top ten. Kurt Stilwell was signed in February 1992, prior to the fire sale, but his .224 batting average during his two seasons with the Padres eliminates him from top-10 consideration.

Bip Roberts, who rejoined the Padres as a free agent after signing in January 1994, was edged out for a top ten spot by two other 1990s signees who are the only two on the top ten list with fewer than four Padres seasons. Roberts originally joined the Padres after the December 1985 Rule 5 draft and had to spend 1986 in the majors. He batted .253 with 14 stolen bases that year and spent 1987 and 1988 in the Pacific Coast League before being called up in September 1988. He batted .301, .309, and .281 in his next three major league seasons while stealing 93 bases between 1989 and 1991, including 46 in 1990. Roberts was sent to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for pitcher Randy Myers in December 1991. Roberts stole 41 bases during his third stint with the Padres while batting .320 in 1994 and .304 in 1995. A December 1995 trade sent Roberts to the Kansas City Royals and Wally Joyner to the Padres.

Although the two 1990s signees on the top ten list played only three seasons and neither finished 1997 with San Diego, both were on the 1996 team, which won the National League’s Western Division. That was the deciding factor in selecting Fernando Valenzuela and Rickey Henderson over Roberts.

Valenzuela joined the Padres in 1995, the year his original Dodgers team signed free agent Hideo Nomo to pitch for Los Angeles. The era of signing international free agents allowed two of those to be among the top 10 signings in Padres history.

The other free agent on the top ten list completed his seventh Padres season in 2025, making him the only free agent to spend more than five years in a San Diego uniform.

Although none of the top 10 free agents were with the Padres during their 1998 National League championship season, two were signed during the Moores ownership years.

Fernando Valenzuela

In his 11 seasons with the Dodgers (including as a September callup in 1980), Valenzuela won 140 games and struck out 1,759 batters. He threw 107 complete games, including 29 shutouts, in 320 starts. He signed as a free agent with the California Angels in 1991, the Detroit Tigers in 1992 before being sold to the Mexican League’s Jalisco team, the Baltimore Orioles in 1993, and the Philadelphia Phillies in 1994. A players’ strike ended the 1994 season early, and the 1995 season began late due to the settlement. Valenzuela signed a one-year contract with the Padres on April 5, 1995.

The 1995 season was Bruce Bochy’s first as the Padres’ manager. Other than five days in late April and early May, the team was no higher than third in the National League West standings, but the Padres were only 2 1/2 games behind the division leader on September 2 and finished the season with a 70-74 record and eight games back of the division champion Dodgers. Valenzuela posted an 8-3 record in 15 starts and 14 relief appearances while striking out 57 batters in 90 1/3 innings. In his 35 batting plate appearances consisting of 32 at-bats and three sacrifice hits, he had eight hits, including a double and two home runs, for a .250 batting average while driving in eight runs and only striking out six times.

At the plate, Valenzuela’s batting average fell to .143 in 1996 with nine hits, including two doubles, in 63 at-bats, but as a pitcher, his 13 wins ranked second on the team. Valenzuela threw 171 2/3 regular-season innings in 31 starts and two relief outings, compiling an earned run average of 3.62 and striking out 95 opponents. The Padres were swept in the first round of the 1996 playoffs; Valenzuela hurled two-thirds of an inning in relief and allowed two walks but no hits or runs.

Valenzuela signed a third one-year contract with the Padres in January 1997. Before he was sent to the St. Louis Cardinals in a six-player June trade he had a 2-8 record with San Diego. One of those losses was shortened due to rain in Atlanta, and Valenzuela threw the final complete game of his career. In his 13 Padres starts during 1997, Valenzuela struck out 51 batters in 66 1/3 innings.

During his three Padres seasons, Valenzuela was 23-19 in 59 starts and 16 relief appearances. He threw 328 1/3 innings for San Diego and struck out 203 batters. His ERA with the Padres was 4.22.

Rickey Henderson

Rickey Henderson set the all-time major league career stolen bases record with the Oakland A’s in 1991, while setting the all-time career walks and runs records with the San Diego Padres in 2001. He signed as a free agent with the Padres on two different occasions. The first of those signings was on December 29, 1995, when Henderson signed a two‑year contract.

Statistics can be misleading regarding Henderson. His significant walks drawn make his on-base percentage more relevant than his batting average. When Henderson reached base, he was a threat to steal, which meant that pitchers often had to throw fastballs and from the stretch rather than from a windup while diverting some of their focus from the batter to observe Henderson.

If everyone were healthy and otherwise in the lineup, Henderson would be the leadoff hitter in 1996 games, Steve Finley would bat second, Tony Gwynn would be third, and Ken Caminiti would be the cleanup hitter. Henderson himself only hit .241 for the regular season, although with a .410 on-base percentage. Finley batted .298 and had a .531 slugging percentage, which reflected 45 doubles, nine triples, and 30 home runs; Finley also drove in 95 runs and had an on-base percentage of .354. Gwynn won his seventh National League batting title with a .353 average while obtaining an on-base percentage of .400. Caminiti set a team record with 40 home runs, added 37 doubles, drove in 130 runs, complemented his .326 batting average with a .621 slugging percentage, and was a unanimous selection for the National League’s Most Valuable Player award.

The threat of Henderson stealing a base was thus more potent than his actual total of 37 steals in 1996. Sometimes Henderson didn’t end up on first base. He had 17 doubles, two triples, and nine home runs. During the regular season, Henderson scored 110 times. His 125 walks exceeded his 112 hits, and he was also hit by a pitch ten times. Henderson only struck out 90 times in 602 plate appearances.

Henderson came to the plate 14 times during the playoff series against the Cardinals. He had four hits, including a home run in the first game, and two walks for a batting average of .333 and an on-base percentage of .429.

The Padres’ participation in the division championship race caused them to acquire outfielder Greg Vaughn from the Milwaukee Brewers at the trade deadline. That gave the Padres four starting-quality outfielders if Henderson, Finley, Gwynn, and Vaughn were all healthy.

During Henderson’s first three full major league seasons, Billy Martin was the Oakland A’s manager. During spring training, Martin would make the comment: “I don’t mind errors. That’s why pencils have erasers. But the first son of a bitch who doesn’t run out a ground ball is out of here.” The intent of that quote was to ensure that players hitting what looked like a routine out would still run to first base in case a fielding miscue allowed the batter to reach base. The application could also include a player who injures himself during the swing or the run to first base and is placed on the disabled list.

In May 1997, Henderson became one of those players who went slowly towards first base after hitting a ground ball and was placed on the 15-day disabled list. Although he did not strike out excessively, fanning only 62 times in his 365 Padres plate appearances during 1997, his strikeout to open the June 12 game in Anaheim was notable because it was the Padres’ first regular-season plate appearance against an American League opponent.

The attempt to solve the outfielder surplus included a planned trade of Vaughn to the Yankees for pitcher Kenny Rogers, but Vaughn failed his Yankees physical, and the trade was called off. Vaughn set out to prove the Padres right in keeping him. On August 15, he became the first player to hit two career home runs into the second deck of the stadium. Vaughn lifted his batting average to .216 by the end of the season and gave the Padres 18 home runs in 361 at-bats for 1997.

Henderson wasn’t around for that. On August 12, Henderson hit his 250th career home run. After the game, reporters in the Padres' locker room sought to ask him questions. He asked them to wait and walked into Bochy's office. The door was closed for several minutes. The following day, Henderson was traded to California for third baseman George Arias and two minor league pitchers. The Padres concluded the season with a 76-86 record, 14 games behind the first-place Giants.

During his Padres portion of the 1997 season, Henderson batted .274 with a .422 on-base percentage in 88 games. He stole 29 bases and hit six homers.

The two-year contract expired at the end of 1997, and Henderson returned to the A’s for 1998 and 1999. He played for both the New York Mets and the Seattle Mariners in 2000 before his contract expired.

Henderson signed a minor league contract with the Padres in March 2001. He began the season at Portland, the Padres' new Triple-A affiliate. On April 17, outfielder Mark Kotsay was placed on the disabled list. Henderson was called up to fill the roster spot. On April 21, Gwynn and Henderson became the first pair of teammates over 40 to appear in the same outfield since Doc Cramer and Chuck Hostetler of the 1945 Detroit Tigers.

On April 24, Henderson drew a pinch-hit walk from Chris Brock, tying Babe Ruth for the record of 2,062 career walks. On April 25, Henderson drew a ninth-inning walk-off from Jose Mesa to break Ruth's record with 2,063 career walks, although the Phillies earned a 3-1 victory. The 8-2 win against Cincinnati on May 7 was Bochy's 500th career win as a manager in 985 games and also saw Henderson hit a leadoff double to reach base for the 5,000th time in his career.

The Padres began their final road trip of the year with four games in Colorado. Henderson scored three times in the first game September 24 and twice in the second game September 25, but he sat out the final two games in order to break the all-time record for runs scored in the Bay Area or in San Diego.

Henderson didn't score in the Padres' 5-2 home loss to Los Angeles October 2, but the following day he led off the third inning with a walk and scored his 2,245th career run on Ryan Klesko's double, tying Ty Cobb's record for runs scored. The Dodgers took a 12-5 victory as Bobby Jones suffered his 19th loss of the year and gave up his 37th home run of the season, setting a new club record.

The October 4 game was tied 1-1 in the bottom of the third inning. With one out and a 1-0 count, Henderson swung at a 93 mph fastball offered by Luke Prokopec. The drive hit the top of the left-field fence before bouncing off the back wall for a home run. As Henderson had previously promised, he slid across the plate when he scored his 2,246th career run, which set the all-time record. The run also proved to be the winning tally as the Padres earned a 6-3 victory.

The Padres' final win of 2001, a 10-4 victory over Colorado October 6, saw Henderson double for his 2,999th career hit. The game also saw Phil Nevin become the first Padre ever to hit three home runs at home in one game. Klesko's homer, his 30th of the year, was the second in team history to reach the second deck in right field. In the bottom of the sixth Gwynn pinch-hit for starting pitcher Brian Tollberg. The double turned out to be Gwynn's final major league hit, and Kevin Witt then replaced Gwynn on the basepaths.

Henderson had said that he would sit out the season's final game, October 7, so that he wouldn't upstage Gwynn. But Gwynn requested that Henderson participate in the game. Henderson led off the bottom of the first by swinging at John Thomson's first pitch. The blooper evaded Colorado's fielders and fell five feet inside the right-field foul line. Henderson stretched his 3,000th career hit into a double and scored the game's first run on Nevin's single. Henderson was removed from the game in the top of the second inning, but he and Gwynn had become the first National League teammates ever to have 3,000 hits apiece.

Henderson played 123 games for the Padres in 2001, batting .227 with a .366 on-base percentage. He stole 25 bases and homered eight times.

During his three seasons in a Padres uniform, Henderson played in 359 games. He batted .245 with a .399 on-base percentage. Henderson’s 277 hits with the Padres included 45 doubles, five triples, and 23 home runs. He drew 277 walks while reaching base as a hit batter 17 times. Henderson scored 243 runs with the Padres while driving in 98. He stole 91 bases for San Diego.

Although Henderson closed out his major league career with the 2003 Dodgers, the original Golden Baseball League teams in 2005 included the San Diego Surf Dawgs, who played at Tony Gwynn Stadium on the San Diego State University campus. The Surf Dawgs played 90 games in 2005, and Henderson was in 77 of those. In what would be his final professional playing season, the 46-year-old batted .270 with a .456 on-base percentage, hit five home runs, and stole 16 bases. His 73 walks tied for the league lead while his on-base percentage ranked second.

Manny Machado

For more than 50 years, Nate Colbert held the Padres’ team career home run record. When he was traded from the Padres after the 1974 season he had 163 career home runs with the team. That record stood until late 2024, when Manny Machado surpassed it.

In February 2019, the Padres signed Machado to a 10-year contract worth $300 million. The contract was the largest in major league history at the time. It included an opt-out after the 2023 season, although before that season began, the Padres and Machado negotiated an 11-year extension for $350 million.

During Machado’s first season with the Padres, he batted .256 with an on-base percentage of .334 and a slugging percentage of .462. That batting average has been his worst during his initial seven seasons with the Padres. His 150 hits in 2019 included 21 doubles, two triples, and 32 home runs. He scored 81 runs while driving in 85.

The coronavirus outbreak limited the Padres to 60 regular-season games in 2020, and Machado played in all of them. He homered 16 times while driving in 47 runs and scoring 44. Machado batted .304 with a .580 slugging percentage. In 2020, he also led National League third basemen with a .987 fielding percentage. Machado was held to a .154 batting average during the 2020 playoffs, although he hit two solo home runs in six games. In 2021 Machado batted .278 with 28 homers while scoring 92 times and driving in 106 runs. Machado also shared the National League lead with 11 sacrifice flies in 2021.

The adoption of the universal designated hitter in 2022 increased Machado’s designated hitter activity to 15 games, although he still played 134 games at third base. At the plate, he batted .298 with a .531 slugging percentage, which reflected 37 doubles and 32 home runs. Machado scored 100 runs while driving in 102. During the 2022 playoffs, Machado homered four times, and his 13 hits also included three doubles. Machado drove in seven runs in 12 playoff games.

Machado’s 138 games in 2023 consisted of 105 at third base and 33 as a designated hitter. He batted .258, hit 30 home runs, scored 75 times, and had 91 runs batted in.

Colbert’s career home run record was broken in September 2024. Altogether, Machado hit 29 regular-season home runs that year. He also doubled 30 times, batted .275, scored 77 runs, and drove in 105 runs. He added a home run in the playoffs along with a double and three singles.

During 2025, Machado hit his 350th career home run and also obtained his 2,000th hit. His 27 home runs gave him 194 in his seven years with the Padres, while his 169 hits gave him 1,019 in a San Diego uniform. Machado batted .275, matching both his 2024 average and his overall seven-year average with the Padres. His .460 slugging percentage lowered his Padres career figure to .485. Machado scored 91 runs in 2025 to bring his San Diego total to 560, while his 95 runs batted in gave him a Padres career total of 631. His 117 putouts and 34 double plays led National League third basemen; Machado played 145 of his 159 games at the hot corner in 2025. Machado added a home run in the 2025 playoffs.

Ha-Seong Kim

In seven Korean Baseball Organization seasons, Ha-Seong Kim batted .294 with 133 home runs and 134 stolen bases. He was primarily a shortstop in Korea while also playing games at the other three infield positions. At the end of 2020, the Padres signed him to play in North America’s major leagues.

Kim started slow, batting .202 with eight home runs and six stolen bases in 2021. He played shortstop, third base, and second base for the Padres that year. He did not play second base during 2022 but appeared in 145 games in the field and 150 overall, and his batting average improved to .251 while he homered 11 times and stole 12 bases.

In 2023, Kim played in 152 games and often switched defensive positions during games. He played 106 games as a second baseman, 32 at third base, and 20 as a shortstop while also being the Padres’ designated hitter once. He received the Gold Glove Award for the National League’s utility player with fielding percentages of .991 in 439 total chances at second, .986 in his 73 total chances at third base, and .966 for his 59 total chances at shortstop. At the plate, Kim batted .260 in 2023 with 20 doubles, 17 home runs, 38 stolen bases, 84 runs scored, and 60 runs batted in.

A labrum tear ended Kim’s 2024 season in early August and limited him to a .233 batting average. He hit 16 doubles and 11 home runs in 2024 while stealing 22 bases. Kim scored 60 runs in his 121 games while driving in 47. He became a free agent after the 2024 season, and should he not return to the Padres in the future his San Diego career will conclude with a .242 average and his 417 hits including 80 doubles, eight triples, and 47 home runs. During his four years with the Padres, he had 78 stolen bases, scored 229 times, and drove in 200 runs.

Robert Suarez

The Padres’ top ten free agents also include international signee Robert Suarez, who played in the Mexican and Japanese leagues between 2015 and 2021 before the Padres signed him in December 2021. Suarez had 25 saves in 2020 and 42 saves in 2021 with the Hanshin Tigers before joining the Padres’ bullpen.

Taylor Rogers was the Padres’ primary closer in 2022 before being sent to Milwaukee in a trade for Josh Hader, who was the Padres’ closer for the rest of 2022 and for 2023. Suarez obtained one save in 2022 while posting a 5-1 record in his 45 appearances and striking out 61 batters. His 47 2/3 innings resulted in an earned run average of 2.27. Suarez posted a 3.00 ERA with nine strikeouts in his seven playoff outings that year.

Arm stiffness and an elbow inflammation kept Suarez on the disabled list during the first part of 2023. He returned to the major league mound in July and had a 4-3 record with a 4.23 ERA in 26 games totaling 27 2/3 innings. Suarez had 24 strikeouts during 2023.

Hader became a free agent after the 2023 season and signed with the Houston Astros. Suarez took over as the Padres’ closer for 2024. He had 36 saves in 65 outings, a 2.77 ERA in 65 innings, 59 strikeouts, and a 9‑3 record for the regular season. Suarez had two saves in the 2024 playoffs, throwing 3 1/3 innings in three games and allowing a hit but no runs or walks while striking out two batters. Suarez also pitched in the 2024 All-Star Game.

Suarez appeared in 70 regular-season games during 2025 and threw 69 2/3 innings. His 40 saves led the National League, and he struck out 75 batters. Although his win-loss record was only 4-6, he posted a 2.97 ERA. He had a save in the Padres’ only 2025 playoff win, along with two postseason strikeouts. Suarez also returned to the All‑Star Game.

In December 2025, Suarez signed a free-agent contract with the Braves. During his four regular seasons with the Padres, he threw 210 innings in 206 appearances, saved 77 games, posted a 22-13 record with a 2.91 ERA, and struck out 219 batters.

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