San Diego Padres Summer Check Up
San Diego Padres
30-36 (5th in NL West)
Eye Popping Number
$144,000,000
This offseason moved very slowly when it came to free agent
signings. The biggest names didn’t end up signing until close to Spring
Training, when they would normally sign in November or December. Eric Hosmer
was one of those players. Nobody knew if he would resign with the Kansas City
Royals, or if another team would pony up the $100 million contract that he
wanted. With a stacked farm system, and after trading for shortstop, Freddy
Galvis, the San Diego Padres felt they were one piece away from contending in
the near future and signed Hosmer to an 8 year $144 million contract. While
many experts predicted he would get his money, it was debated on if he was
actually worth that much. Unfortunately this season hasn’t exactly gone to
plan, but the contract wasn’t for this year, it was to land a first baseman for
2019 and 2020 when their new, young core starts hitting their prime.
Biggest Surprise
The Padres have one of the best farm systems in baseball,
but the biggest surprise never showed up on any top prospect lists, and moved
around the minors for a few different teams, and that is Christian Villanueva.
He made his MLB debut late last season at the age of 26, fairly late compared
to most players, and played well. He was given the chance to be the everyday
third baseman on the 6th game of the season and hasn’t really looked
back. He leads all rookies with 15 home runs and 35 RBIs this year, which also
lead the team. He has also produced the highest isolated power of all rookies
with at least 100 at bats, which measures how many at bats go for extra bases.
Player to Watch
Last year at the trade deadline, Brad Hand was one of the
most talked about names rumored to go a number of different places, and the
same followed as winter rolled around, until the Padres inked him to a 3 year
contract extension that ends in 2021 (aka the Padres winning window). Hand has
gone on to produce a better season so far than he did last year when he was one
of the best relievers in baseball. He’s almost matched his save total, while on
pace to have a lower ERA (1.95) and more strikeouts. It will be interesting to
see if he’s still playing for the Padres in September, or if someone is able to
blow the Padres away with an offer for Hand’s services.
What to Watch for at the Deadline
The Padres will be sellers at this year’s deadline, but they
already seem to have the pieces in place for their long term run. Top prospects
are starting to make their debuts and performing well, but there are still
players that they can use to help keep their farm system loaded while they
begin to graduate many of them. Tyson Ross is pitching like it’s 2015 again,
and should be a sought after starter because there aren’t many aces on the
market this year. Craig Stammen and Kirby Yates have been revelations coming
out of the bullpen this season and could help a team looking for that one extra
set up guy to shorten a game come October. Many of the team’s bats are controllable
for the future, but Galvis, who they traded for last offseason, is a free agent
at the end of the year, and if the Padres want a return for him, they could
find a team like the Diamondbacks who need a middle infielder to take them off
their hands. Like I said earlier, Hand will be interesting to watch, but his
recent extension makes it seem like he’ll stay in San Diego for the next few
years.
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