Padres continue to stockpile Draft picks

In the last week, the Padres have watched pitcher Jon Garland sign with the Dodgers and, on Monday, catcher Yorvit Torrealba sign with the Rangers.

Big losses? Sure, Garland and Torrealba each played prominent roles on a team that won 90 games and surprised everyone in baseball.

Unexpected losses? Not at all. The Padres offered both players arbitration last week with the expectation they would decline and sign elsewhere. That’s exactly what happened, meaning the Padres have picked up two additional Draft picks as compensation.

For those scoring at home, that’s four Draft picks in the first 60 or so picks — one for Garland, Torrealba, their own first-round pick and a compensatory pick for not signing pitcher Karsten Whitson last year.

If pitcher Kevin Correia signs elsewhere, that will be a that will mean five picks in the first 60 or so overall picks. The Padres, like other teams, want to build from within. The farm system as it stands today is devoid of Major League-ready talent at the top.

But given their payroll constraints — only the Pirates had a lower Opening Day payroll in 2010 — the Padres must get production out of their farm system because, for the near future, they won’t be major players on the free agent market.

 -- Corey Brock, MLB.com