The Padres need to fill five major holes through Free Agency or through trade. Jed Hoyer's emphasis will be on starting pitching. He would like to add two starting pitchers, a second baseman, shortstop, and a backup catcher. While I believe the Padres could easily sign a Free Agent short stop, such as Orlando Cabrera and fill second base with a table setter like Orlando Hudson, I believe Hoyer might have a better chance acquiring a young controllable second baseman and short stop through a trade rather than signing another Free Agent, given their financial limitations.

My guess is that Hoyer is looking everywhere for young middle infielders on teams that need a closer (Bell) or young starting pitching. If we acquired a player like Brett Lawrie, (Brewers) we would probably have to sign a one year stop gap Like Orlando Hudson, or trade for a guy like J.J. Hardy, Marco Scutaro, or Jason Bartlett. Here's some other guys I think the Padres should take a look at: 

2B: 

SS or 2B:

In previous pieces we (Brian and myself) have talked more in depth about potential second-basemen and shortstops, mainly via trade. For a more thorough look at middle infield help besides potential Free Agent signing you can check them out here. 

GM's Meetings Already Starting to Heat Up

Heath Bell: Extend or Trade

Here is a list of Free Agent middle infielders.

Second basemen

Shortstops

Now we get to starting pitching.  Knowing Hoyer's emphasis is stabilizing the starting pitching rotation. Kevin Millwood, Aaron Harang, Javier Vasquez, Brandon Webb and our own Chris Young are some of the more intriguing realistic Free Agent pitchers on the market. Here is a list of all the Free Agents. For a thorough look at potential starters here is a link below to a previous article describing Hoyer's emphasis and potential matches.

Jed Hoyers Priority is Pitching for 2011

Starting pitchers: 

With Yorvit Torrealba electing to test the Free Agent market, the Padres will need to find a back up catcher. The Padres seem confident in Nick Hundley's ability behind the plate. For more insight on potential candidates, here is a previous article on Hundley and potential backstops. 

Hundley Continuing to Make an Impression

Here is a list of all the Free Agent catchers.

Catchers