We hand out grades for some of the San Diego Padresā biggest offseason signings this winter.
The San Diego Padres havenāt finished a season above .500 since 2010, but thatās all going to change for the 2015 MLB season.
The Padres have made a flurry of offseason additionsāhighlighted by the acquisitions of big bats like Matt Kemp and Justin Uptonāto take control of an offense that ranked 30th in the league in runs, batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage last season.
San Diego, now looking like the most improved team this offseasonāand theyāre not even doneācould now even be considered favorites to win the NL West division, which would be the first time since 2006.
With that, we assign grades for some of the Padresā biggest signings this winter.

Derek Norris, C
Itās always nice when a club is available to take advantage of a fire sale from another team, and thatās what the Padres did when they added Derek Norris from Billy Beaneās Oakland Athletics squad.
Norris came to San Diego along with right-hander Seth Streich and an international signing slot in exchange for Jesse Hahnand and R.J. Alvarez.
The 25-year-old catcher is still finding his stride in the big leagues, but heās a much-needed addition for San Diego.
The catcher position was a sore spot for the Pads last season, as Yasmani Grandal and Rene Rivera both manned the backstop and combined to hit .238.
Norris isnāt going to wow anyone with his powerāespecially in Petco Parkābut he is the type of catcher who can command the pitching staff and be a leader on the field for the defense.
New @Padres catcher @d_no36 has made big parks look small before: http://t.co/7Sax1itC7j #HotStove pic.twitter.com/G7s0TdAs5E
ā MLB (@MLB) December 19, 2014
With some big bats now in the lineup, Norris will have more opportunities to see better pitches and produce at the dish.
Grade: B

Justin Upton, OF
Continuing the onslaught of improvements this offseason, San Diego was able to get Justin Upton from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Jace Peterson, Max Fried, Mallex Smith, and Dustin Peterson.
Thank you to all the @Braves fans, staff, coaches and teammates. Excited for this new opportunity with @Padres . Can't wait to get going.
ā Justin Upton (@JUST_JUP) December 19, 2014
Upton is fresh off a 2014 campaign that saw him drive in a career-high 102 RBIāthe first time in his eight year career that he breached the 100 RBI mark.
What makes this signing extremely beneficial for the Padres is the fact that Upton is open to signing a long term deal with San Diego, according to Bill Baer of NBC Sports.
The 27-year-old outfielder is entering the last year of his six-year, $51.25 million extension that he signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2010, and heāll make $14.5 million this upcoming season.
As long as Upton has a productive season in San Diegoāand letās be honest, most of us are expecting him toāthen the Padres could be the team that Upton spends much of the second-half of his career with.
Grade: A

Matt Kemp, OF
Arguably the biggest splash the Padres made in the offseason pool was the acquisition of slugger Matt Kemp from the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Making the most of every opportunity. New uniform, new home, new season. Excited for what's to come.⦠http://t.co/zSFSkmFamW
ā Matt Kemp (@TheRealMattKemp) December 20, 2014
After a down season in 2013āKemp played in just 73 games for L.A. due to injury and hit only six home runs and drove in 33 RBI while batting .270āthe 30-year-old saw a resurgence in 2014.
Kemp got back into the groove last season, hitting .287, and finding the power again, launching 25 homers and driving in 89 runs in 150 games.
In an earlier column, I graded this deal an A-, but Iām going to bump that up to an A following the addition of Justin Upton.
Kemp now has more protection in the lineup with the addition of Upton, and I think we see an MVP-like season from the slugger in 2015.
On top of it all, the Dodgers will pay $32 million toward Kempās deal with the Padres, meaning that San Diego will only shell out $3 million of its own money this season for the All-Star.
Grade: A