The Dodgers search for starting pitching has reached the bargain bin, as they have signed Vicente Padilla to a contract that will pay him less than $100k for the rest of the season to provide starting rotation depth. Charlie Knuckeball gave the team a solid start against a good offense, but with Hiroki maybe out for a couple of starts, Ned has secured Torre one of those "veteran starters" he loves so much to take his place.

Pitching-wise, it is not such a bad move. He does have a high 4.92 ERA, but that is pitching in the tougher AL and his home stadium was hitter haven Arlington Park. I would expect it to improve, coming to the NL and pitching in Dodger Stadium. He doesn't strike anyone out (59k in 108IP), but maybe some of those homers in Texas will be caught in LA. And it's not like he's expected to be an ace, he just needs to give the team some quality starts.

My problem with the signing is that Padilla has been reported as a terrible teammate. According to the article, Texas players were exchanging handshakes with their GM for getting rid of a member of their starting rotation. This is not coming from a last-place team, this is a team that is tied for the AL Wild Card lead. I'm crossing my fingers that Ned's dumpster diving expedition works, but I'm not holding my breath.