LAS VEGAS -- The Padres checked the first box on their offseason to-do list, hiring Craig Stammen to be their next manager . Next up? Finding starting pitchers for Stammen to hand the ball to.

“Every year, every team in here is talking about starting pitching,” said Padres general manager A.J. Preller. “But especially with [Michael] King and [Dylan] Cease in free agency and [Yu] Darvish’s injury, it’s probably our top need going into the offseason.”

This week marks the unofficial start of that offseason, with executives from all 30 front offices gathering for the General Managers’ Meetings in Las Vegas. And, sure, every team needs starting pitching. But there aren’t many teams whose need is acute as the Padres. They enter the offseason with at least two openings in their rotation and d

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