Spending as little as possible may be a priority for the Padres. Though Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported on Sunday that the club expects to carry a top-10 payroll, current projections put it about $4.4 million over the $241 million luxury-tax threshold.

The San Diego Padres have made it clear that both Dylan Cease and Michael King are available for trade. Cease is a free agent after this season and the team is trying to fill other roster holes, while King is expected to be in an arbitration battle with the ball club next month.

In a January 27 article, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic conveyed that two elite pitchers on the San Diego Padres could be on the trade block this offseason. 'On