LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- It was a busy week at the Winter Meetings for the San Diego Padres. The rest of the offseason will be even busier.
The Padres swung a pair of trades Tuesday, landing Chase Headley and Bryan Mitchell from the Yankees, while sending Ryan Schimpf to Tampa Bay and Jabari Blash to New York.
The deal with the Yankees gives San Diego an affordable starting option in Mitchell -- one the club believes could flourish with the opportunity. It also gives the Padres another infielder who can play third base in Headley.

General manager A.J. Preller was already likely to deal one of his second-base/third-base options. Now, it's a near certainty.
"We're open to hearing what different teams have to say," Preller said. "We'll see how the next few months play out."
What's next
On Friday, a day after the Winter Meetings were completed, the Padres also found a shortstop, acquiring Freddy Galvis in a trade with the Phillies. The Padres had entered the Meetings with a list of "eight or nine" candidates, according to Preller -- an assortment of free agents and trade pieces.
"Getting some stability in that spot is going to be a very good thing for our ballclub, our pitching staff," said Preller. "He's a winning baseball player."
• Hot Stove Tracker
Of course, nobody on the free-agent market would move the needle for the Padres like Eric Hosmer. And their interest in Hosmer is evidently "very real," according to a source.
On the surface, he's a strange fit in San Diego. The Padres committed the largest contract in club history to William Myers a year ago. But Myers is comfortable moving to the outfield should the Friars land Hosmer. And the 28-year-old free agent is young enough that his prime would still mesh with the Padres' window for contention.

Rule 5 Draft
Late Wednesday night, the Padres made the decision not to clear any space on their full 40-man roster. As a result, they didn't participate in the Rule 5 Draft -- a stark departure from the past two years, when they took an MLB-most seven players.
"I'm the only manager that stays around for the Rule 5 Draft, because that's how half my team was formed over the last couple of years," Padres skipper Andy Green joked at his media session. "But I think we're migrating away from that pattern of behavior. ... We're getting roster constraints that make that really hard to do -- which is a good problem. People are going to start talking about our guys in the Rule 5 rather than us taking everybody else's guys."
No Padres prospects were poached Thursday, easing the worry for some in the organization that righty slugger Franmil Reyes would be taken.
In the Triple-A phase of the Draft, San Diego snagged lefty Jose Carlos Medina from the Mets. Meanwhile, Oakland took right-hander Jaimito Lebron, who played Rookie ball for the Arizona League Padres this past season.
GM's bottom line
By acquiring Headley, Preller only added more work to his plate. He got a controllable starter in Mitchell. But now he's going to need to deal an infielder, maybe two.
He's also looking for a couple of starters, some bullpen help and a backup catcher. Oh, and don't be surprised if the Padres continue to be linked with Hosmer. The next month should be an active one.