A
source confirmed Tuesday that the Padres had reached a deal with Garland. Terms
were not immediately known.

Garland
has a career record of 117-102 with a 4.42 ERA over a 10-year career in the
Major Leagues.

Garland
essentially completes a starting rotation that includes Chris Young, Mat Latos,
Kevin Correia and Clayton Richard.

The
Dodgers declined their $10 million mutual option for 2010 on Garland. He earned
$2.5 million from the Diamondbacks as a buyout as part of the terms of the
trade made Sept. 1 between the two teams.

Garland
has thrown at least 191 2/3 innings in every season since 2002.

This just in …and remember, your one stop for Padres news is Padres.com and Twitter @FollowThePadres.

The Padres have reached an agreement with utility man Jerry Hairston Jr. on a one-year deal worth $2.125 on Monday.

He will be the second member of the Hairston acquired by the team in three days.

On Saturday, the Padres re-acquired Scott Hairston from the A’s for
third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff. Scott Hairston played parts of three
seasons (2007-09) with the Padres before he was traded to the A’s in
July.

Jerry Hairston, who is 33 and four years older than his brother, has been a free-agent target of the Padres all winter.

In fact, the Padres were talking to him and the agent whom he
and his brother share, Casey Close, about a deal to be the right-handed
outfield bat that they needed.

Instead, the Padres traded for Scott Hairston.

San Diego general manager Jed Hoyer said on Saturday that the
team now has its sights set on finding a veteran pitcher, but indicated
that the team is still looking for depth for the middle infield.

Jerry Hairston played third base, shortstop, second base and the outfield last season with the Reds and Yankees.

Jerry Hairston, a career .271 hitter in the National League
(compared with .253 in the American League), would likely back up Chase
Headley at third base, Everth Cabrera at shortstop and second baseman
David Eckstein.

Jerry Hairston, who has been in the big leagues since 1998, has
never played with his brother. The two were teammates last spring for
Mexico in the World Baseball Classic.
Corey Brock, MLB.com,

The deal that we talked about on Friday was made official on Saturday: Kevin Kouzmanoff and Eric Sogard to the A’s for Scott Hairston and Aaron Cunningham.

I had the opportunity to talk with Kouzmanoff on Saturday night and he was very thankful of the chance he got to prove himself as Major League player in San Diego.

The tone of my story on Saturday focused more on what the move means for the Padres and if this kind of move is something we might see more from new general manager Jed Hoyer.

Hoyer told me in November that finding an offensive player who can succeed at spacious and very pitcher-friendly PETCO Park was important to him. Now Scott Hairston might not be the perfect guy for the job, but his skill set and his offensive numbers at this ballpark are worth noting.

Have a look at the chart in my story regarding the most home runs hit at PETCO Park since 2007. Look at Hairston’s line. Look at Adrian Gonzalez’s line. Sure, Gonzalez has a greater sample size, but it shows there are right-handed players who can hit the ball out of PETCO Park and can succeed here.

“It’s going to be an organizational priority to build a Padres team
that fits PETCO Park and can maximize the advantages that it can
offer,” Hoyer said in November. “There’s a blueprint for success here
based on the size of the ballpark.

“It’s speed, pitching and defense. There’s a player who can be successful at PETCO and can benefit from the ballpark.”

I realize fans became attached to Kouzmanoff during his time here. Honestly, as he said on Saturday, he felt the same way about the fans.

But for a team looking to get better, that was looking for a right-handed outfielder, someone who could play center field, someone who is a good defender and won’t have the dramatic home-road splits others do, they made what looks to me as a very good baseball deal.

What are your thoughts?

Corey Brock, MLB.com @FollowThePadres

So you’ve been waiting and waiting for the Padres to make a big splash — or even a minor ripple — this off-season, right?

Well, this is it.

On Friday, the Padres and Oakland A’s swung a deal; the Padres will send third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff and Minor League second baseman Eric Sogard to the A’s for outfielders Scott Hairston and Aaron Cunningham.

Here’s my story from Friday night with details. It’s important to note the deal isn’t official yet. The players involved will be physicals first. Kouzmanoff is headed to Oakland today, Saturday, and I expect Hairston will head to San Diego to do the same very soon.

The Padres have been looking for a right-handed hitting outfielder and have found it in a player they had for parts of three seasons and one they traded to the A’s in July. This says to me the Padres either didn’t like what was left on the free agent market or didn’t like the cost.

Parting with Kouzmanoff is going to be tough for Padres fans. He’s clearly been a fan favorite here and has improved immensely defensively in each of his three seasons here. There was a thought internally that he had reached his ceiling offensively (which, I should add, was still pretty good).

Now Chase Headley can slide back to his natural position at third base, leaving left field, presumably, in the large hands of Kyle Blanks.

Hairston was ecstatic about the deal. He never wanted to go in the first place. Here’s my story from last night talking about Hairston’s return and what it means for Headley.

I’m sure we’ll hear more on the trade today or Sunday.  For the latest updates, check Padres.com and Twitter at @FollowThePadres.

Corey Brock

I know.

You’re wondering when the Padres are going to make a significant addition to their roster this winter.

I have a feeling the next few weeks will be interesting, especially with Spring Training five or so weeks away.

There’s still a bunch of interesting free agents out there, players who will likely see their asking price drop the closer we get to Spring Training.

Remember Bobby Abreu last year? He signed a deal with the Angels on Feb. 11 and it was an undervalued deal at that.

That’s not to say the Padres are going to make a big splash with a free agent signing. They won’t, not with a payroll in the $40 million range. But they could sign one or two players — I’m guessing you’ll see a veteran catcher first then the right-handed hitting center fielder — who can help them in 2010.

I’ve detailed a few of these names in my story on MLB.com and Padres.com today. Have a peek. I think Jerry Hairston Jr., the older brother of former Padre Scott Hairston, could make for an interesting fit. He could be the right-handed center fielder (Tony Gwynn plays against right-handed pitchers) and also spell Everth Cabrera and David Eckstein at times.

Who would you like to see the Padres sign?

Remember, for all of the latest breaking news on the San Diego Padres, check Padres.com and @FollowThePadres on Twitter.

Corey Brock, MLB.com