The San Diego Padres added to their depth in the infield and the rotation on Monday, agreeing to minor league deals with first baseman Ty France and right-hander Walker Buehler, according to multiple media reports.
France is reuniting with the team that drafted him in 2015. Per the reports, his deal includes an invitation to major league spring training. The signing is pending a physical.
France, 31, won his first Gold Glove in 2025 while playing first base with the Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays. He hit .257 with seven home runs and 52 RBIs in 138 games.
A seven-year veteran, France’s best season came in 2022 with the Seattle Mariners, when he batted .274 with a career-high 20 home runs and 83 RBIs and earned his lone All-Star selection.
In 840 games with the Padres, Mariners, Cincinnati Reds, Twins and Blue Jays, France is a .262 hitter with 81 home runs and 364 RBIs.
Buehler, 31, has struggled to rediscover his form since he missed the full 2023 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery for the second time the prior summer.
From 2017-22 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Buehler went 46-16 with a 3.02 ERA in 115 games (106 starts). Since his second elbow reconstruction, Buehler has pitched for the Dodgers in 2024 and the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies last year, going a combined 11-13 with a 5.10 ERA in 42 games (40 starts).
He landed a one-year, $21 million free agent deal with the Red Sox last winter but didn’t make it through the full season in Boston, getting released after going 7-7 with a 5.45 ERA in 23 games (22 starts). Buehler then signed in September with the Phillies, for whom he went 3-0 with a 0.66 ERA in three games (two starts).
A two-time All-Star, Buehler was a key part of the Dodgers’ championship runs in 2020 and 2024. He owns a 2-0 record with a save and a 0.75 ERA in three World Series games (two starts), part of his 4-4 record and 3.04 ERA in 19 postseason games (18 starts).
Buehler figures to compete for San Diego’s No. 5 starting job. France likely will be a reserve with newly added Nick Castellanos reportedly getting the first crack at first base.
–Field Level Media
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