The Padres have brought back old friend Woody Williams, signing the 38-year-old right-hander to a 1-year deal worth a guaranteed $3.5M. The contract could be worth as much as $14.5M over two seasons if he makes 15 starts in 2005.

Williams essentially is a slightly better than league average starter at this stage in his career. He battles, though, and his presence should rub off on the younger pitchers. He could be this year’s David Wells.

On the other hand, Wells may be this years Wells. Maybe the signing of a veteran pitcher like Williams will send a message that the Padres are serious about fielding a contender now, and get Boomer back in the fold sooner rather than later. Kevin Towers is hoping so.

Also coming to San Diego are free agents Geoff Blum and Eric Young (only the U-T is reporting the Young signing).

Blum is a career .254/.316/.398 hitter who can play just about anywhere. He’s an older, less patient version of Ramon Vazquez.

Speaking of Vazquez, with arbitration hanging over his head, his days as a Padre appear to be nearing an end. Too bad. For a fraction of the cost, he could probably do as well as, or better than, Cristian Guzman if given the chance. I doubt Vazquez has much trade value, though.

Anyway, here is the Pads’ 2005 rotation as it now stands:

Rotation '05 sal          '04 stats
                     IP   H BB  SO HR  ERA
Peavy       ???   166.1 146 53 173 13 2.27
Lawrence  $2.25M  203.0 226 55 121 26 4.12
Williams  $3.5M   189.2 193 58 131 20 4.18
Eaton     $3.2M   199.1 204 52 153 28 4.61
May       $3.2M   186.0 234 55 120 38 5.61

That’s pretty solid. Get Wells in there instead of May, and it’s damn good. Fired up? Hell yeah, I am. The Padres may be cheap, but they appear to be spending their money wisely. It’s not like they’re throwing three year contracts at the likes of Kris Benson, Jon Lieber, or Jaret Wright.

Sign Wells to a deal similar to that of Williams. Get Mark Sweeney for the bench. Grab another reliever cheap. (Scott Williamson, anyone? Sure, he’s hurt all the time, but why not try for lightning in a bottle. The Red Sox just inked Matt Mantei to a 1-year deal worth $750k. I’ll bet Williamson could be had for a little more than that.)

Things are happening. Without a lot of fanfare, and without a lot of money, things are happening. Pretty cool if you ask me…