The Padres have signed righty starter Mark Prior to a 1 year, $1 million dollar contract with a boatload of incentives. Prior last pitched in 2006 with the Cubs as he sat out all of last season due to injury. Prior has started 106 games in his major league career and he is 42-29 with a 3.51 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. He also has whiffed 757 batters in 657 innings which shows what kind of dominating stuff he has. If Prior is healthy this was a master stroke by him as Petco Park is the best pitcher’s park in all of baseball. Plus, the Padres are great at improving pitchers so Prior will likely have a solid season if he can stay in one piece next year.

The Padres have signed Robert Fick and Jeff DaVanon to minor league contracts. Jeff DaVanon is a 34-year old switch-hitting outfielder who had injury problems last season. He played in 39 games last season for the D-Backs and A’s and he was 19 for 89 (.213 avg) with 14 runs scored and 6 RBIs. DaVanon has now played in 528 games in his major league career and he is 333 for 1,288 (.259 avg, .749 OPS) with 205 runs scored, 33 homers, 150 RBIs and 59 stolen bases. Robert Fick is a lefty swinging 33-year old who can handle a few positions on defense like 1B, C, RF and LF. Fick played in 118 games last season for the Nationals and he was 46 for 197 (.234 avg, .614 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 2 homers and 16 RBIs. Fick has now played in 846 games in his major league career and he is 613 for 2,373 (.258 avg, .733 OPS) with 287 runs scored, 69 homers and 324 RBIs. Both of these guys have a decent chance of making the Padres Opening Day roster.

The San Diego Padres signed lefty starter Glendon Rusch to a minor league contract. Rusch did not pitch in the majors last season due to injury. He has now pitched in 296 games (211 starts) in his major league career and he is 60-94 with 4 saves, a 5.01 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. He will be a long shot in the race for the #5 starter job on the Padres in Spring Training.

The San Diego Padres have acquired center fielder Jim Edmonds from the Cardinals for minor league third baseman David Freese. The 37-year old lefty swinging Jim Edmonds had an off season in 2007 for the Cardinals but the Padres expect him to rebound in a big way. Edmonds played in 117 games last season for the Cardinals and he was 92 for 365 (.252 avg, .728 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 12 homers and 53 RBIs. Edmonds has now played in 1,814 games in his major league career and he is 1,801 for 6,272 (.287 avg, .910 OPS) with 1,154 runs scored, 362 homers and 1,121 RBIs. This was a good move for the Padres.

The Padres have decided to let starting pitcher Jack Cassel go as they decided against signing him for 2008. Cassel pitched in 6 games as a rookie last season for the Padres and he was 1-1 with a 3.97 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP. He pitched 22.2 innings last season and he allowed 30 hits, walked 5 batters and whiffed 11. Cassel didn’t last long on the free agent market as he signed with the Houston Astros who will give him a shot to earn a rotation spot in Spring Training.