Right-hander Michael Wacha has agreed in principle to a contract with the San Diego Padres, according to two people with knowledge of the deal.

The people spoke with The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity on Tuesday because the deal was still being finalized and pending Wacha passing a physical. The contract was believed to be for multiple years, similar to what the Padres gave right-hander Nick Martinez last year, and both people described it as “complicated.”

The 31-year-old Wacha was 11-2 with a 3.32 ERA in 23 starts for the Boston Red Sox last year. The Padres will be his fifth team. He spent his first seven seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals and was selected MVP of the 2013 NL Championship Series as a rookie. He also pitched for the New York Mets and Tampa Bay Rays.

The Padres had been looking to add a starter and appear to be leaning toward starting the season with a six-man rotation. Wacha will join a rotation that includes Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, Blake Snell, Martinez and Seth Lugo.

• Suspended San Diego star Fernando Tatis Jr. went through outfield drills alongside Juan Soto. Manager Bob Melvin said Soto will move from right field to left field, where he started his career with Washington in 2018. That presumably means Tatis, an All-Star at shortstop in 2021, will play right field when his 80-game drug suspension ends April 20, although the Padres haven’t committed to that.

Soto, who came over from Washington in an Aug. 2 trade, will be moving back to left field after playing right field the last three seasons.

“Left is what we’re going to work on with him, and we’re going to try to keep him in that one spot,” Melvin said. The Padres haven’t committed to Tatis in right, but that makes the most sense since he has a strong arm and center fielder Trent Grisham is coming off his second Gold Glove Award in three seasons.

The Padres don’t need to rush into a decision on Tatis since he won’t be active until April 20. He’s a full participant in spring training after surgery on his troublesome left shoulder in early September, not quite a month after being suspended following a positive test for a performance-enhancing drug. Tatis made 16 starts in right field and seven starts in center field in 2021, when the Padres temporarily moved him from shortstop after he injured his shoulder.

Tatis missed all of 2022. He was on the cusp of returning from left wrist surgery when he was suspended.

“From where he’s come from, he just wants to play and contribute and get out on the field,” Melvin said. “He does a lot of his damage with the bat in his hand.”

Xander Bogaerts will play shortstop after signing a $280 million, 11-year deal in December. That pushes Kim Ha-seong to second base and Jake Cronenworth to first.

METS: Justin Verlander threw his first bullpen session for New York in Port St. Lucie, Florida, six days before he turns 40. Verlander helped Houston win the World Series for the second time in six seasons and won his third AL Cy Young Award before signing an $86.7 million, two-year contract with the free-spending Mets.

Verlander agreed to a free-agent deal with the Mets in December, replacing Jacob deGrom and reuniting with his former Detroit Tigers teammate and fellow three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer.

Scherzer or Verlander figure to start the March 30 opener at Miami, when baseball gets its first official look at the team that has baseball buzzing after owner Steve Cohen’s record spending spree. Verlander and Scherzer were teammates with Detroit from 2010-14, when they each won one Cy Young Award. Scherzer won two NL Cy Youngs with Washington while Verlander went on to win two AL Cy Youngs with Houston.

“Just like all pitchers, regardless of their background and their success, you’re trying to serve their needs and create an atmosphere that they can be as good as they can be,” Manager Buck Showalter said a day ahead of the team’s reporting date.

Verlander was 18-4 with a 1.75 ERA and 185 strikeouts in 2022 and helped the Astros beat Philadelphia in the World Series.

BREWERS: Two-time All-Star Corbin Burnes and Milwaukee went to salary arbitration with the sides $740,000 apart.

Burnes asked for a raise from $6.55 million to $10.75 million and the Brewers argued for $10.01 million during a hearing. A decision is expected Wednesday.

The 28-year-old right-hander was 12-8 with a 2.94 ERA in 2022 and had a career-best 33 starts, which tied for most in the major leagues. He led the National League with 243 strikeouts, second in the big leagues behind the New York Yankees’ Gerrit Cole at 257.

Burnes won the 2021 NL Cy Young Award after leading the major leagues with a 2.43 ERA. He went 11-5 for the Brewers.

A five-year major league veteran, Burnes is 35-19 with a 3.21 ERA. He is eligible for free agency after the 2024 World Series.

CARDINALS: John Mozeliak’s contract as the St. Louis Cardinals’ president of baseball operations was extended through the 2025 season, the team announced.

Mozeliak, 54, is the longest tenured head of baseball operations in the National League. Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. had said last month that he was pleased with Mozeliak and wanted to retain him.

The Cardinals won the NL Central last year and matched a franchise record with their 15th consecutive winning season.

Mozeliak has been in the organization since 1995 and has overseen baseball operations since 2007, first as general manager and in his current capacity since 2017. His contract had been set to run through the 2023 season.

YANKEES: Could outfielder Aaron Judge provide first base depth behind starter Anthony Rizzo?

Judge worked out at the position during a pre-spring training workout at the Yankees minor league complex in Tampa, Florida.

Ace Gerrit Cole arrived and shagged batting practice in right field.