The stove is hot now.
Free agents are now finally signing with teams as each ballclub scrambles to put the finishing touches on their 2022 rosters.
Kris Bryant is one of the many marquee free agents who have yet to sign and were left without a job due to the lockout.
But with that now over, the offseason has picked back up.
One team in particular appears to be interested in Bryant and is said to have joined the sweepstakes.
That team is the San Diego Padres, who now join the Philadelphia Phillies and Colorado Rockies in the hunt for Bryant.
Padres are looking at Kris Bryant among a number of other options. Would be interesting to start the season with Bryant at 3B and Manny Machado at SS. Rockies, others are in on KB.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) March 16, 2022
A Solid Fit
This would be an interesting fit for Bryant.
After all, Fernando Tatis Jr. is going to be out for potentially three months, and the Padres could use a bat while they wait for their star shortstop to recover from his wrist injury.
As Jon Heyman notes in the tweet above, they could start the year with Bryant at third base and Manny Machado at shortstop, with Bryant later moving to the outfield and Machado back to third when Tatis returns.
San Diego is looking to rebound from a season derailed by an epic late season collapse that took them out of the hunt for the postseason and knocked them below the .500 mark to finish the season.
But with Bryant on their side, they look to be a team that can challenge the Los Angeles Dodgers for National League West supremacy.
They also have Blake Snell, Yu Darvish, Mike Clevinger, and Joe Musgrove in their starting rotation.
Add Bryant to a stacked lineup that already features Machado, Eric Hosmer, and Tatis at some point, and you’ve got yourself a potential World Series contender
NEXT: Padres Owner Comments On Disastrous 2021 Season