Jon Garland pitched as a starter for the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2009. He signed a free agent contract with the San Diego Padres in January. Garland’s great strength as a pitcher is his durability. Since he became a regular starter in 2002, Jon ranks ninth in innings pitched in the majors. That despite the second the second highest ERA in the top ten, the lowest K per 9 of that group, and the third highest HR per 9 of that group.

In his best years, Garland kept his walks to a minimum, so the home runs don’t hurt as much. PETCO seems like the perfect park for him, as it turns one of his weaknesses, giving up home runs, into a strength. The Padres, at least at home, have a pitcher who doesn’t walk many and keeps the ball in the park, so they can tolerate a few more hits from him. He’ll give the bullpen a rest as well. Garland represents a nice one-year stop gap until San Diego can start building a better team, at a very affordable price of around $5 million.