The Padres have been linked to Eric Hosmer on multiple occasions this offseason, and Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports (via Twitter) that the team met with Hosmer yesterday as the team continues an “aggressive” pursuit of the free agent first baseman.
It’s an odd fit at first glance, as the rebuilding Padres have Wil Myers at first base after moving him there from the outfield and signing him to an $83MM extension. However, Myers could be shifted back to an outfield corner (he reportedly has no qualms about doing so) in the event that the Friars ultimately strike a deal with Hosmer and agent Scott Boras.
That said, it’s still somewhat surprising to see the Padres pursuing a free agent of this magnitude when they’re not yet expected to contend in 2018. Hosmer is a relatively youthful free agent, having just turned 28 in October, but he’s still expected to command a nine-figure contract, which would not only represent a franchise record for the Padres but would also cost the rebuilding club its third-best pick in next year’s draft due to the fact that Hosmer rejected a $17.2MM qualifying offer from the Royals.
Hosmer is coming off a career year, having slashed .318/.385/.498 with 25 homers — including a ridiculous .336/.402/.532 slash in his final 592 plate appearances after a slow start to the year. Hosmer has had productive offensive stretches in the past, but the former No. 3 overall pick and vaunted top prospect has also yet to string together successive seasons at that level of play.
Unless they are trading Myers, it doesn’t make sense to me
Myers can move to corner outfield.
Myers is a bad outfielder, plus they have Pirela coming off a good year. plus I don’t think Hosmer is very good
Pirela is a fluke. Look at his career numbers and his peripherals. Myers is certainly an upgrade.
I agree that Hosmer is not that good of a player. Every other year he completely stinks. At the 8/200 price tag Boras has put on him, it would be insane for any small market team to sign him.
I don’t think Pirela is a fluke.. This was his first extended look at the MLB level and he looked pretty good, why can’t he be a solid 2/3 WAR player. Myers is a bad defender, hence the reason he was moved to first int he first place. Hosmer is a big money upgrade at a position of no real urgency to upgrade.
Do you recall him playing RF before the move to 1b?? Almost as entertaining as the Dee Gordon move to CF will be
Myers will be injury prone again in the outfield.
Why? Myers to left. Ohtani in RF. Renfroe either bats against lefties or goes down to AAA or traded. Margot in center. Pirela can spell Myers or Ohtani (if Renfroe gone) and can play 2B or 3B, or they sell high on Pirela. Jank or Sczrzur 5th OF
Give you a guess who’s not getting Ohtani….
Yankees, tell me what I’ve won!
Years of not seeing Ohtani in SD.
Why wouldn’t Ohtani want to go to San Diego? It’s such a great place to live. And who could blame Hosmer too?
It is way too early to count Ohtani in the mix. With the Angels and Mariners picking up extra cash, it isn’t looking good for the Pads.
If it was about his signing bonus money, Ohtani would have not included the Padres/Dodgers/Giants/Cubs in his final 7 because they are restricted to $300,000. If it was about money, he would have stayed in Japan for two more years. None of the 7 teams can be counted out right now or be seen as the favorite.
Otani won’t be a starting outfielder for any team he signs with. He hasn’t played in the field since 2014. Myers is a bad outfielder. While Myers isn’t the best player around, he’s good enough for the current Padres’ needs. Signing
Hosmer would be a baffling waste of resources.
Myers used to play third base and catcher as well. He could be a super utility player like Michael Cuddyer.
Yea 16 mil a year utility player for small market
Nothing AJ & Co. does makes sense, it’s all a facade
There’s something funny going on here. They just told Ohtani they have spot for him in left field, or did they? Two of their top pitching prospects, Cubans Baez and Morejon, are Boras clients. Could they be going along with Boras to pump up Hosmer’s market, hoping to get a break down the road?
Lorenzo, if I may call you Lorenzo, that seems far-fetched.
When has Boras given a break to anyone?
I’m sure Hosmer is tripping all over himself to sign with another small market team that has no chance or hope of winning their division or making the post-season for the foreseeable future…….
Money changes a lot of minds.
BORAS client, it’s all about the $, winning is only something they say publicly
If he finds someone crazy enough to give him 9 figures he’ll probably take it.
Dude has a ring, probably cares more about the money
As a padres fan, please do not do this preller
this is a bad contract waiting to happen. A player coming off his best year ever playing a position that is easiest to fill. These are the type of players that always get over paid when their numbers go down the next year.
What free agents would you consider good contracts?
Id think you would have to compare the contracts between players. For example, if Hosmer leaves KC for 9 figures in SD…and they sign Logan Morrison to what figures to be a much lesser figure….not only do they get a better deal…but maybe a better player. Hosmer is all in the mind….a truly overated player
Hosmer is a good player but not a great player you build around. At a position that is easy to get production from. Anything more than $15 million a year longer than 5 years is a bad contract. Over the last few years players like him has received less money and less years. padres are better off spending it at positions needing a upgrade and continue using Meyers at 1B because Meyers is terrible in the outfield.
you’re overrated
Thats what im getting at…the MYTH of Hosmer is the only thing driving the 100m delusions. He’s an ok player at a position that a little better than ok is more readily found. Until 2017 the guy was having serious trouble posting much of a positive career WAR. He’s a .280/15-20hr bat with limited range…but he can pick. Yeah, that player has value….he’s just not a star.
Mikep— I bet you think your 7th grade algebra class is overrated too.
Will Meyers is a C- outfielder, but a pretty good first basemen, of all the things SD needs why this move?
Pretty good 1B?
Has Preller done anything that makes sense?
Signed his own extension. That makes sense.
Correct!
Tatis Jr. for Shields.
Kimbrel trade.
Numerous International signings, etc.
He’s made some great moves and some bad ones, like every GM.
Tatis for Shields?
SD paid the Shields salary & before we start planning Tatis induction to the Hall of Fame, let him first get past A ball.
Kimbrel trade? Margot is a .260 at best hitter, Asuaje is no more than a back up infielder & Logan Allen has not even gotten out of A ball.
.260 hitter with great defense. You act like a CF needs to hit .300 to be valuable
Kevin Pillar, Kevin Keimaier, etc. they are all around a .260 hitter with great defense.
Learn baseball kid.
Shields would have been still posting his 5+ era @PETCO FRIGGIN PARK that should be enough right there not to mention get our ss of the future (Tatis) is just a cherry on top. Tatis made double A last year and could possibly start in AAA this year. Margot is a perennial gold glove candidate and can swing the stick. Teams have been checking in on asuaje I’m not sure if your just hating on the Padres cause it’s easy to do or you just don’t know baseball..
Built a top three farm in baseball
If your team consistently finishes in the bottom, your team is going to have the opportunity to select early in the draft, therefore SD is on the top of the farm systems. But that does not make Preller very apt GM
Still don’t see the fit. Sure he’s young but if a team like the Padres is going to invest that kind of money it should be for more of an impact bat that the lineup can be built around.
I like the idea. Why would you not want a guy like him?
Because he’s a decent player that’s going to get paid like an elite one and as soon as the ink dries on his contract it’ll be an albatross
There are multiple reasons why this would not be a good idea for the Padres. Hosmer is going to want a lot of money, and he might not be able to live up to what he’s asking for. Looking at his career, he hasn’t necessarily been a world-beater. This is on top of the fact that the Padres already have Myers at first, with Josh Naylor on his way through the minors. They’d also have to give up a draft pick for Hosmer. If they want to sign an “impact” player, they would be better off spending money on next year’s more highly-regarded free agent class.
I think you need to factor in that there will be increased market competition for those free agents (i.e.. Harper, Machado, etc.), including their increased price point, while there may be limited competition for Hosmer, in this winter’s market.
Doesn’t matter, he won’t get them to the promise land, tells you all their so called prospects are mostly just bodies!!!!
There will be a limited market for Hosmer at 100m this offseason….Padres might pay 20m extra for him if they arent careful. Its not about is he valuable/not valuable…..hes just not elite.
I like this, admittedly. I think his gap-to-gap pop can play well, and with the plethora of young talent on this club, it is key to have a young leader. Who knows, they can be sneaky wild card contenders in a few years when the giants are rebuilding, though the rest of the west still looks formidable. Unless the Red Sox offer him a mammoth of a contract, I feel as though this is Hosmer’s best shot at getting that career worthy money.
sneaky wild card contenders in a few years??? this re-build will be a complete failure if they have to wait a few years just to sneak into the wild card. With the crazy amount of pitching talent they have in the minors and the payroll flexibility they have because of the young controllable talent, the Padres should be an elite club in a few years. If they sign Hosmer they might sneak into the playoffs in 2019.
Don’t bet on it!
I wouldn’t
call Hosmer’s numbers ridiculous as much as really good.
I have a bad feeling about this.
Stay away, Ohtani–these guys are all over the road.
I know Hosmer to the Padres does not make a lot of sense to people, however, if you look at the Padres roster construction, and their farm system, there Is a real need for productive left handed bat moving forward. Add in the playoff experience, and the desire to infuse the team with a culture of winning, and you can see why the move might make some sense, at a reasonable price point (obviously a caveat).
Moreover, were they to sign Hosmer, I believe it would precipitate a further trade to clear up some of the congestion in the OF at the upper levels. I suspect if you look at the transaction as a two-part deal, it might make a little more sense from an organizational standpoint.
You make sense, but Moustakas [probably can be had for less than Hosmer] punches all of those tickets as well and fills a position in the Padre Franchise that has little depth on the Farm ——- 3rd.
Besides pitching Padres depth is mainly in 2nd and 3rd. Solarte, spangy, Urias, asuaje, Villanova, schimpf… Need more?
Moustakas is a K machine and the Padres seem to be looking for better OBP going forward. At least that was the reasoning they gave for firing their hitting coach.
A K machine? 94 in 585 ab’s is hardly a K machine. Now his OBP would be something to worry about.
The ENTIRE caveat is built around price point with Hosmer. His bro boy winning style just isnt worth an extra 20m…and it doesn’t make him elite. Theres a LOT of .280 15hr in that slow bat.
december is preller’s rockstar GM month. sign them all. let’s go
Hosmer is a great Clubhouse presence, steady producer, and gold glove first baseman. He’s definitely not an elite run producer which is why BOS isn’t in hot pursuit and Cards are willing to wait and see how his market develops. Padres are a team on the rise, and Hosmer may be more willing to sign if Ohtani lands in SD. Preller also needs to pursue some quality arms.
Gold Glove? He is a bad defensive 1B.
fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=1b&stats=fld&#…
If you don’t like defensive stats for a single season, here it is for 3. Hosmer is the very worst among qualifying 1B.
fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=1b&stats=fld&#…
This prob goes along with the owner saying he wantd to be a .500 team next yr. Since myers and renfroe didnt hit well last yr prob looking at options. Bad move for SD tho myers might break another wrist in LF which is the sole purpose of why he was shifted to 1b
Which owner are you talking about? The only two I have read anything from are Seidler and Fowler. Both of them have been quoted recently as saying 2021 is the year they are shooting for. Do you have a link to them saying something different than that?
I’d be highly surprised if the Padres got Hosmer. Feels more like due diligence and to get the Padres in the headlines.
Hosmer is a good fit for the Padres. He is a solid left handed bat who is at the least a consistent middle of the order bat whom the Pads can feel good about penciling in for years to come. If the Padres are going to rise to the level of perennial contender they are going to have to elevate their offensive talent. They have a bunch of players who would be super utility guys and fourth outfielders on winning clubs. Meyers (right handed), Margot (right handed) and Hedges(right handed) are the only MLB starters for sure. Urias (right handed) looks like he is the real deal. Tatis (right handed) is too far away to know, but the early signs look promising. Renfroe (right handed) is on the bubble. The Padres need Hosmer (left handed) to help this re-build.
They’re going to need another left handed bat at some point as well. (Ohtani? Moose?) You can’t field a ML lineup with one left handed batter.
I think it’s funny how people are saying his contract is going to be too expensive.
How does anyone know any of the financials of his possible deal?
Scott Boras represents expensive players.
Scott Boras is asking for 8/$200 million for Hosmer. That has been reported by most of the writers including on this website. That is too expensive for Hosmer period and obviously too much for a small market like San Diego.
No way he gets that kind of years/dollars. My guess is that Hosmer will get a four year deal worth around $81 million with a fifth year option at $25 million with a 4 million dollar buyout. This puts Hosmer back on the market by age 32 at the latest, but possibly by age 31 season. That allows him to establish himself as a more consistent hitter and earn one more big payday. He could then sign a contract for four or five more years. No one is going to give him eight years now, he is just not a superstar worth taking that gamble on. So the most he would get would be six years, which would put him at age 34, which is not an ideal age for a player to get a big contract.
The Padres get a veteran and solid LH bat from 2018-2022. That should cover 3-4 years of when they will be competitive. If Naylor is ready by 2021 (he will be 24) don’t exercise Hosmer’s option.
Makes no sense. Myers and his $78.5m obviously aren’t going anywhere and Josh Naylor continues to hit well.
Don’t count on Naylor. He’s basically a poor man’s Kyle Schwarber but with even more defensive concerns. Plus he hasn’t been able to convert raw power into game power. Think of him has a left handed Kyle Blanks.
Dude can flat out hit
Yea he’s Stan Musial heard that in chat room
“Flat out” he’s raking in minors
Yes and there’s no reason he can’t continue to do that at the next level.
That would be great but I’m not getting my hopes up. Plus I wouldn’t consider .280/.346/.415 with 10 HRs as anything too special. Still don’t think Hosmer is the answer of course.
yo man are you able to get any comment section on any of the articles from MLB to load?
it stopped loading for me also
Nope haha
Uh, no. Rather keep the draft pick and sign someone like Logan Morrison or Matt Adams to 2 year deals if Preller is intent on getting a 1B and moving Myers to the OF.
Wonder if he will keep Pirela or Spangenberg as a super utility player assuming they sign Cozart as their SS and give Villanueva a chance to hold down 3B, Asuaje gets 2B.
Yuck. You owe Padre fans an apology.
LoMo is a bum and Matt Adams?!?
Hosmer is proven and much more valuable than our 3rd pick.
Let’s play a game.
Player A
Career- .245 / .330 / .433
2017- .246 / .353 / .516
Player B
Career- .271/.311/.467
2017- .274/ .319/ .522
Player C
Career- .284/ .342/ .439
2017- .318/ .385 /.498
Yeah, let’s pay Hosmer 70+ million for 5+ years and possibly cripple spending in 2019 2020 2021 when we are ready to compete and lose a draft pick instead of signing Logan Morrison for less than 40 mill or Matt Adams for less than 30 mill , fraction of the commitment at 3 years or less, and keep the draft pick.
Adams is one year older than Hosmer and will cost $190 million less.
He crushes RHP which is 75-80% of all starters
Career – .286/.333/’.495/.828
2017 – .295/.342/.554/.896
and struggles against LHP.
Career – .206/.236/.357/.593
2017 – .180/.206/.377/.583
He plays good defense. So whoever signs Adams should platoon him. Let him play 100-120 games.
He made $2.8 mm in his 2nd year of arbitration in 2017. I have not seen his arb projections from before he was non-tendered or anyone projecting his FA value. Would a 2/$8 mm contract get him in a Padres uniform?
How do you know the cost of him and the length of the deal?
But I would prefer Adams over LoMo
2 years and 8 to 10 mill would get adams easily.
Im not fond of tossing Myers out jn the OF again, but if Preller is hell bent on getting a 1B then rather it be adams.
Plus, you can spell adams with somone like pirela who can spell renfoe, Myers, asuaje as well in a super utility role.
which means spangenberg, solarte get traded.
If Im Dayton Moore on Im the phone with Logan Morrison’s agent right now. Local guy and he’s not a downgrade from Hosmer. Royals are wise and they can cobble together the production of these flawed free agents they turned loose. Id try to resign Moose maybe.
How’s Hosmer’s range at SS? We could use him there. (wink)
Besides pitching Padres depth is mainly in 2nd and 3rd. Solarte, spangy, Urias, asuaje, Villanova, schimpf… Need more?
Even tho I like the guy signing Hosmer seems like a huge waste of money. Moving Myers back to the outfield will make him injury prone again. Just sign Escobar for two years until Tatis can truly hold down ss. Sign chacin again and another low end starter. Tank another year get another good pick shoot for the stars starting 2019-20.
No need to sign Chacin if were tanking. Save the $15-20 million over two years for the 2018 or 2019 offseason. Throw out Wood all year, should be good for 20 losses.
Chacin is going for 15-20 mil? Damn glad your not AJ
I don’t what he’s going to get, and I said the Padres should forget about him. I read that he could get $15+ over two years. Minor just got $28mil over 3 years. Same WAR last year and they are same age. $15-$20mil doesn’t seem out of hand now does it?
Minor didn’t pitch half his games at petco and have Darren balsey for a pitching coach last year. No way in hell chacin gets that kind of money more like 2-3 for 8-11 mil.
If I’m right home park factors are included in WAR. I don’t imagine he will get the same as Minor but $15mil over 2 years is reasonable. Look at Ian Kennedy’s and Edinson Volquez’ contracts if you want former Balsley protege examples.
Yes it is reasonable for Those pitchers. Ian Kennedy and Volquez were both 2nd-3rd rotation guys after there pads stint Chacin is a 5th starter at best on any squad other than the 2016 pads
Bahaha the Padres are the worst run organization in the MLB. They should call them the Browns of the west. Even talking to Hosmer makes no sense. They’re gonna pay Hosmer 100+ million to hit 20 hrs and hit for average every other year? And push Myers back into the outfield? I hope this happens. The Royals should sign Logan Morrison and Jarrod Dyson to hold down the fort for a few years while we stink. Let all these free agents go and take the picks.
Apparently you don’t pay attention to baseball in its entirety. Padres are one of the best up and coming teams in baseball…
This feels more like the ownership having interest than Preller. Same happened with Kemp. This potential signing and the Kemp trade are huge 180s from the rest of what Preller has done. At least they are willing to spend some money.
It’s their money. If they want Hosmer, they can make the decision to go after him. To most people, it seems like the wrong move for a team that is more than 2 years away from being in contention for even a WC, but the owners get the final say.
If money were no object and you could spend seemingly unlimited money for 6-8 years, then signing Hosmer to an 8/$200 mm deal would be just fine. He is a good player.
If it is a small market team with limited revenue where the AAV would be 25% of the total payroll then it’s not. You simply cannot commit that large of a percentage of your payroll on one player if he isn’t an MVP quality player. Hosmer is not.
Agreed. It definitely seems like this is another move being pushed onto Preller and Co. by the owners. I thought they got rid of that mentality after Mike Dee was fired.
There’s a time during a rebuild when the team can start signing impact players (like what the Cubs and Astros did after a few years into their rebuilds), but right now is not the time for this team, and Hosmer is certainly not the player for the job.
Uggh…unless he wants something like 3 years for 75 million this is going to be a terrible contract. No reason to handcuff our future for a slightly above average 1st baseman.
Not surprisingly AJ Preller does not know the difference between fantasy baseball and putting together a real MLB roster.
Myers “entrenched” at 1B
Come to San Diego and waste your prime!
Ouch
The truth hurts