Though the Royals reportedly made Eric Hosmer a contract offer that would’ve stood as the largest in franchise history, GM Dayton Moore says that the club’s long time first baseman and fan favorite “took the better offer” in choosing the Padres (via Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star). One big difference between the two offers was that Kansas City never included an opt-out clause; Hosmer’s deal with the Padres contains one after his fifth season with them. Of course, that contract is also believed to guarantee him more years and overall dollars than the offers he reportedly received from the Royals. In addition, the offer from the Royals was apparently more “back-loaded”. Moore adds that he had a “pretty good sense about four days ago” that Hosmer wouldn’t be returning. Though he still held out hope, it was at that point that he began to “develop a mindset” that the club was probably going in a different direction.
More rumblings around the league following last night’s big news…
- Now that Hosmer has officially signed elsewhere, the Royals are saying that they plan to move forward with a rebuild, Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports reports. The club also says that they don’t plan to pursue any more marquee free agents. Rumors in the past 24 hours have connected the Royals with outgoing third baseman Mike Moustakas (at least in theory), but Nightengale’s sources would seem to throw some cold water on the idea of a reunion between the two. A similar report from ESPN’s Buster Olney runs parallel with that of Nightengale.
- Manager Ned Yost texted Hosmer multiple times over the offseason, reports Jeffrey Flannagan of MLB.com. Yost never heard back, and jokingly says that he didn’t get a response even when he was “on [his] death bed.” Dodd reports that Yost (and Moore) really wanted Hosmer back, and believed that his legacy would be “cemented” in Kansas City.
- Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star argues that fans are missing the point by focusing on Hosmer’s departure, when they should be focused on the moments he created during his tenure in Kansas City. Mellinger describes Hosmer as having “something like the perfect Royals career.” He cites myriad memorable moments from Hosmer’s time with the club, including his call up and playoff contributions.
- The Padres are “more than a player away” from being a good baseball team, Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports argues. However, he also makes the case that Hosmer may still be around when the team is able to “get it right”. Eight years is a long time, after all, and the Friars have players like Manuel Margot, Hunter Renfroe and Fernando Tatis Jr. who could be on the cusp of greatness. In addition, they have a strong farm system that can produce yet more great players. Brown makes the case that the signing makes some level of sense because Hosmer is simply a really good baseball player, and adds that this contract is the story Padres fans will be hearing “until the Padres are good again or until it’s clear they won’t be.”
justin-turner overdrive
Could have also just written: “Laughter.”
yankeeaddiction
You have to remember that this contract will now impact the market for first baseman. For example If Hosmer is a 20 million a year player then a guy like Anthony Rizzo, half the player of Hosmer, should get 10 mil a year if he were a free agent. Look at Logan Morrison- say he wants a pillow contract- what does he get for one year. When you look at his numbers compared to Hosmer he can argue he should get $19 million on a one year deal..
22222pete
Then nothing has changed since every prediction had his AAV over 20 million.
Pads Fans
7/147 was what the Royals offered. $21 million per year from them and $21 million through the opt out is what he got.
lowtalker1
How do you really know that? Cba cannot confirm
The first offer of 140 was incorrect
Pads Fans
Article in KC Star and the interview with the Royals GM Dayton Moore after the , Rosenthal, Heyman, Nightengale, and several other sources referenced on this website all said it was 7/147. Sources are not always correct, but usually when you see 5 or more agreeing on the numbers they are pretty accurate. Moore said the Padres gave him more than the Royals offered, but did not say they gave him more money than the Royals had offered. Moore did say that the reason they lost Hosmer to the Padres was the “opt-out clause” and “front-loaded money.”
brucewayne
I think the Royals dodged a big bullet by not getting Hosmer! Now go sign LoMo who’s comparable , but way cheaper !
JFree47
Um. What??
ncaachampillini
Oh just put the phone down and get back to your moonshine. When the dust settles on the off-season we can go back and try to come up with yankee addiction’s 10 top stupidest trolled up comments. Rizzo being half the player of Hosmer will crack the top 5.
jlad00
Are you trolling us?? Rizzo outpaces Hosmer in almost every metric under the sun over the last 5 seasons.
SoCalBrave
maybe you are talking about a different Rizzo? Because any GM would take Anthony Rizzo over Hosmer if they are paid equally
czontixhldr
I don’t think it’s moonshine. I think it’s lysergic acid diethylamide.
Michael Chaney
I’d take Rizzo over Hosmer even if Rizzo was paid twice as much
Bruin1012
Seriously are you trolling or just beyond stupid. Saying that Hosmer is better then Rizzo or that Bryant is slightly better then Rizzo is an all time stupid comment.
msjrn509
Really
msjrn509
Excellent
FriendOfBoras
How in the hell is rizzo better than Hosmer!?! Are you guys nuts? Hosmer is a leader! He carries teams to victory! Rizzo is mediocre, and I’m being generous by saying that. Hosmer is an Elite first baseman and and Elite leader, Rizzo is rizzo, he shows little bursts of greatness here and there and then slumps for 40 games.
Syndergaarden Cop
darwin award
Bruin1012
I see your off your meds again.
wellhitball
Please examine the following columns, each of which the performance of the 2 by the two players since the April 2014.:
BB%: 11.8% vs. 8.6%
K%: 15.5% vs. 17.2%
BB/K: 0.8 vs. 0.5
BA: .283 vs. .289
OBP: .388 vs. .350
SLG: .523 vs. .449
OPS: .911 vs. .799
ISO: .241 vs. .160
BABIP: .295 vs. .326
WRC+: .144 vs. .116
DRS: 36 vs. -9
UZR/150: 5.0 vs. -19
WAR: 20.2 vs. 7.5
Which one do you think is Hosmer, and which is Rizzo?
Spoiler – Rizzo’s is on the left, and Hosmer’s is on the right.
PhanaticDuck26
LoMo 19 million and Rizzo 10 million? stick to Yankees coverage, bud
outinleftfield
He is not a Yankees fan, he is a troll who hates the Cubs.
ncaachampillini
You know what you’re right. I was reading yankees stories this weekend and I don’t think I saw him comment once. I just can’t figure out his real fandom. It’s not the White Sox because even the most ardent south side cubs hater has some knowledge and tries to sound somewhat reasonable (for the most part).
For awhile I thought Brewers because the day they got Cain and yellich he was spouting off like a lunie. But he hasn’t talked Brew crew since then.
I think you must be right he’s just an unimaginative sad little Cubs hater.
InPolesWeTrust
In all honesty, who the hell cares who he roots for. You see his name in the comments, skip it and move on….
outinleftfield
You missed the point. He doesn’t root for anyone. He trolls almost every thread with anti Cubs garbage.
ddub7
Just when you thought Yankeeaddiction has made his most dumbest comment, he out does himself.
giantboy99
Just say no to drugs
brewcrewbernie
Hosmer better than Rizzo? Lol please don’t reproduce, there’s enough stupid people as it is.
cubbies95
Pretty sure yankeeaddiction is like 12 yrs old or something
theheatison
their stats are very similar…
msjrn509
Defense Rizzo,winning Rizzo,Intelligence Rizzo
One Fan
@thehearison
If you think Hosmer and Rizzo are similar then you do not know much
Syndergaarden Cop
you’re a joke
holycowdude
No offense, but if you value Rizzo as “half the player of Hosmer” then i can’t fully trust your evaluation of anything related to baseball.
Stuemke17
“Rizzo, half the player of Hosmer.”
Not sure if trolling or doesn’t know how to read a stat sheet.
brucewayne
Rizzo half the player of Hosmer? You’re INSANE! I’m not a Cubs fan at all, but Rizzo is much , much better than Hosmer!
One Fan
Rizzo half the player of Hosmer? Hahahha ok yankeeaddiction thanks for showing how ignorant yankee fans are. Hahhaha
Andy Stang
Only if they just write “chokers” about all Dodger stories.
brucewayne
So much for COLLUSION huh?
halloates13
Does Myers move to LF leaving Renfroe in RF?
thomasgn
To my understanding the third outfield spot is going to be taken up by either Renfroe or Jose Pirela, so if it’s Renfroe I would guess LF for Myers, if it’s Pirela Myers would probably slot into right.
lowtalker1
Renfroe in right
That cannon and power will beat out perila every day
Pads Fans
Green said Myers will be starting in LF with a competition for RF between Renfroe and Pirela. Renfroe put up 30 HR and a .783 OPS in his career so far which I read is one of only 4 RF have ever done that well, so I would think the position is his to lose.
saintchristafa
I would think they keep Renfroe in RF and shift Myers to LF. Manuel in CF.
Just in my opinion, Renfroe has the strongest arm out of the three
jbigz12
Pads future looks good but Hunter Renfroe on the” cusp of greatness” made me laugh,
cxcx
Kyle Downing has a lot of room for growth.
Pads Fans
30 HR and a .783 ops for his career, which is 515 PA so far. That is really good. If he plays defense like he did in the 2nd half, he will be fantastic.
jbigz12
He had a 753 OPS batted ~230 and had a 285 OBP last season. He had a great 35 AB stint during his first call up. He isn’t on the “cusp of greatness” coming off that kind of season. The kind of season that saw him get demoted for a month.
Pads Fans
You are obviously not a Padres fan. The Padres owner, Fowler, said with no equivocation that Renfroe was sent down to give the Padres an extra year of control contractually. 30 HR, .783 OPS for his career, which as you pointed out is 35 AB more than his 2017 season. Several sources have pointed out that Renfroe put up 11 Outs Above Average on StatCast in the 2nd half after a -14 1st half. He made only one error in the 2nd half. And he hit a franchise record 26 HR for a rookie in 2018. Great power, played great defense in the 2nd half so we know what he is capable of, was the AAA MVP in 2016, cannon for an arm. What more do you want from a rookie? He will be better in 2018 and even a little better is excellent. An .800 OPS for a regular with 30 HR is All Star caliber play.
johansantana17
Also “Hosmer is simply a really good player” made me laugh. What other player who has produced zero or negative WAR in three or the past six seasons would anyone ever say that about?
czontixhldr
^this^
chesteraarthur
The only writers on this site worth a damn are Jeff and Steve. Just look at the garbage that comes out of Jason’s chats.
hakunamoncada
Dumb move by the Pads. They are way too far from contention to be handing out a deal like this. Especially when they already have a comparable player at 1B in Myers. The Padres seemed to have been making all the right moves recently up until this point.
deweybelongsinthehall
Risky not necessarily dumb. They felt they needed to pay more than KC and this is their Jason Werth deal. If they improve, this will be the deal that got others to look at SD and it’s most likely just a five year deal as barring injury, he will likely opt out.
Pads Fans
The Royals offered 7/147. How is 8/144 more?
SoCalBrave
Because it was backloaded. right now his contract is 5 yrs 105 M. after he can opt out and could get at age 33/34 another 4 yr 60 M or more depending on the market at that time.
Neotwism
How can you say the royals offered more? Even Moore said the Padres deal was better. Nobody has confirmed the dollar amount from the royals
66TheNumberOfTheBest
KC fans should be happy. Happy they dodged the Boras bullet. Happy they got a 1st round comp pick. Happy they can sign Logan Morrison for a fraction of the price. Happy they can keep their World Series Hosmer memories instead of their equivalent of Phillies fans watching the last few years of Ryan Howard.
RunDMC
Why would anyone going thru a rebuild sign LoMo? Something tells me Hosmer would age better than Howard, just a hunch.
ericl
Why not sign LoMo? He’s from Kansas City and they need a replacement for Hosmer. Teams going through rebuilds still have a few veterans around to help the development of their younger players. The Tigers are going through a rebuild, but they still have Cabrera & V-Mart. They also signed a a vet like Fiers to help fill out their staff. The Phillies have had vets on their roster during their rebuild. Adding a player like LoMo doesn’t mean they aren’t rebuilding. It just gives them some experience in the lineup
xSpecBx
I would think the tigers would trade Cabrera and V-mart if anyone wanted them. I agree young teams need some veterans around, but that’s not the example I would give. Matt Holiday on the Yankees last year is a good example of a vet on a young team.
yankeeaddiction
Well someone has to play first and Morrison is going to want to start somewhere. Royals sign him to a one year deal and flip him at the deadline. It would not surprise me if Rizzo’s continued regression puts the Cubs in the market come the end of July. The Royals need a guy at first from April through July 31- if Morrison puts up decent numbers in that time the Royals might be able to flip him for the next Hosmer.
Partreeshio
Wait what do you mean by “continued regression” for Rizzo because a quick glance at the stat sheet begs to differ. He’s been remarkably consistent the last 4 seasons.
2014-17 HR: 32, 31, 32, 32 (model of consistency)
RBI: 78, 101, 109, 109 (model of consistency)
BB: 73, 78, 74, 91 (walks up)
K: 116, 105, 108, 90 (strikeouts down)
Slash line ~ ..280/.380/.515 (I mean… come on)
I know I’m just picking out some stats but thats besides the point. Look at his baseball card. His last two seasons have been his two best seasons and that’s not really arguable. Are you a troll?
DockEllisDee
the second I got to “Rizzos continued market regression” I almost spit out my coffee, oh man this is great.. this is one of the most easily trolled sites I’ve ever seen, the way you guys offer up such sincere, stat laden responses
brucenewton
He’s just trolling to get a rise.
Big Jamaican
And the congregation said AMEN!
ReverieDays
One of the biggest over-pays for a good-not-great player ever. Padres are fools.
RunDMC
Mike Hampton and Jayson Werth agree.
Ejemp2006
This Hosmer contract will supplement arguments against big free agent contracts. Hosmer is slightly above average at 28 and I don’t think he has much more upside.
jbigz12
If re-works his swing and works on elevating the ball he could have some more power upside. Though, he’s a pretty good hitter and I’m not sure you want your $144 million dollar player messing around with his swing.
Cam
Problem is, Hosmer has shown absolutely no desire to re-work his swing. He’s been open in not wanting to tinker with what he does, which is part of what has added to the idea in some circles that he’s borderline uncoachable.
Maybe the Padres will find a way to get through to him – but if they don’t…Pads fans can look forward to watching him continue hitting over half of balls in play, in the dirt. He’s already shooting up the career GIDP charts.
JFree47
Why would he retool his swing to hit fly balls in kauffman stadium? So he could have more pop outs? He made his swing work with the ballpark
Cam
I didn’t say anything about hitting fly balls.
If he made his swing work for the ballpark, he’d be hitting line drives, not ground balls. Kauffman stadium does not make ground balls more effective than line drives.
JFree47
.318 average and 94 RBIs…… the only thing you can fault him on his home runs. His swing is just fine
Cam
Unsustainable BABIP (near the top of the league), particularly for a guy with a ground ball heavy profile.
And you do realize RBI’s are a function of having runners on base before he steps up, right? Very, very skewed way of evaluating hitter performance.
There’s a reason why he’s had two replacement level seasons out of the last four – his hitting profile is ripe for inconsistency. That’s the point here.
Pads Fans
Where did he rank in LD% among 1B? Top 10. No need to change his swing.
Cam
There’s a reason why his offense has absolutely cratered 2 out of the last 4 seasons. His batted ball profile, as a product of his swing, creates inconsistent results. That’s not a prediction, that’s a fact – it’s in the books. The prediction is in him not wanting to change it, so the same results being expected.
His hard hit % last year? 29.5% – good for 48th out of 52 first basemen last year. Grounds balls + soft contact is a recipe for poor production. And we’ve seen Hosmer with bad production before.
There’s a reason why this deal is being derided so much, by so many.
Pads Fans
Where do you get that garbage?
He ranked 6th in average exit velocity for 1B.
baseballsavant.mlb.com/statcast_leaderboard
He has had very good years offensively in 2015 and 2017.
.297/.363/.459/.822 in 2015 and
.318/.385/.498/.882 in 2017
fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=3516&posit…
jbigz12
That doesn’t disprove his point. Look at ‘16 and ‘14. I don’t have a dog in the fight but that doesn’t show anything.
YourDaddy
It entirely disproves his point. Cam wrote, “His hard hit % last year? 29.5% – good for 48th out of 52 first basemen last year.” StatCast clearly proves he is the 6th hardest hitting 1B in MLB.
Pads Fans
He doesn’t need to do anything .300 with 25 HR and Gold Glove defense is plenty good and well worth $21 million for the next 5 years.
Cam
He’s a .284 career hitter with a career high of 25 HR – you expect him to average .300/25 for 5 years?
And please don’t bring up gold gloves – Palmeiro won a gold glove by playing less than 30 games in the field. There are people out there who still think Derek Jeter was a great defender because of his gold gloves.
YourDaddy
Not to butt into your argument, but he has hit .294/.359/.463/.822 the past 3 seasons. No one pays attention to 7 year trends, just 2-3 year trends. That is what the Padres are undoubtedly expecting. His BABIP is in line with the top guys in WAR at 1B. I’m out.
czontixhldr
Pads Fans, posting his averages over any three year period is misleading, considering he had negative WAR in one of those three seasons, and two in the last four.
Good players just don’t do that.
It’s really not any more complicated than that.
But it’s OK, go ahead and keep trying to convince yourself Hosmer is the next coming.
Pads Fans
I will jump back into my own discussion. Would you like a list of good players that have done exactly that? I found 7 first basemen who have had a season of zero or lower WAR and 2 seasons of 3+ WAR since 2000. Hosmer’s 2.5 WAR average over the past 3 seasons is above league average. Over an 8 year contract that is 16 WAR factoring in the average rate of regression for players as they age through his age 35 season. That is worth about $144 million if wages do not go through any inflation over the next 8 years. What do you know? That is exactly what his contract totals. Do you think, maybe, just maybe, that the GMs and their huge analytics and scouting departments know more than you do?
Hosmer doesn’t have to be the “next coming” to be worth his contract. All he has to do is continue what he has shown he can do over the last 3 seasons. If for the next 3 years of his deal he produces what he produced last season, then he is a huge bargain even if his production drops off at the typical rate of regression for players over 30 over the next 5..
czontixhldr
“I found 7 first basemen who have had a season of zero or lower WAR and 2 seasons of 3+ WAR since 2000. ”
You obviously have reading comprehension issues.
Here’s what I wrote: “… considering he had negative WAR in one of those three seasons, and two in the last four.”
It’s “two in the last four” of negative or zero WAR – not “a [1] season of zero or lower WAR”.
Actually, it’s three of the last six.
Go find that list and get back to me.
darkstar61
@Padfather,
You have Hosmer, who has been worth merely 9.9 WAR over his peak physical condition seasons that make up his 7 year career so far, producing 16 WAR over the next 8?
And even if he were to somehow produce that 16 WAR moving forward – well at a WAR value of 8m (which is what Fangraphs uses) we don’t get to being worth about 144m.
Afterall, 16 WAR x 8per = 128 million
…and again, that 128m worth is only possible if he nearly doubles his WAR totals of the last 6 seasons as you seem to think he will for some reason
outinleftfield
Peak years in baseball are 26-30. He is right in the middle of that.
outinleftfield
The value of a point of WAR for Fangraphs was $8.25 million for 2017. So far this offseason its just over $9 million and has gone up the past few days mostly because of signings of guys like Tillman who had a -1.0 WAR and signed a $3 million deal.
Every year the value of a point of WAR goes up with the salaries of FA signings. As of today we still have more than 85 to sign. I don’t know what Fangraphs cutoff date is to determine that dollar value of WAR, but opening day seems reasonable.
mikeyst13
Time for pitching needy teams to re-inquire about Danny Duffy. The rebuild is officially in full force.
jbigz12
Thinking hosmer changed the rebuild in anyway was kind of crazy thinking to begin with. Did they go from a 67 to a 70 win team with him?
unfortunately-a-reds-fan
Hosmer leaving KC did in fact change the rebuild as mentioned in this article by their GM, seems you’ve got your teams backwards. I agree with everyone this is a stupid deal for the Padres, but at least Preller and co. show a willingness to spend the boatloads of money major league teams have to improve the product we pay so much to see.
Pads Fans
Not everyone thinks this is a bad deal for the Padres. The Padres don’t. I don’t. Rosenthal said that signing Hosmer was a good thing for the Padres before his surgery. Moore and Sweeney of the Royals both said they thought it was a great deal for the Padres and they know Hosmer better than anyone.
jbigz12
I responded to a comment about the Royals. With Hosmer I suggested they’d win 70 games. I said nothing about the Padres. Thinking the royals coulda just retool with Hosmer is also pretty crazy. They have very little in the minors and Hosmer would’ve counted for a huge chunk of their payroll
mikeyst13
Hosmer alone wouldn’t have completely affected the rebuild, but it’s not crazy to think that if they signed Hosmer they may have shifted a bit. Could have looked at it as more of a retooling than a straight out rebuild.
jbigz12
You can use rebuild or retool interchangeably but it’s going to be completely different KC roster the Next time they’re competitive with or without Hosmer. They have a bottom 5 farm and payroll limitations. They got their WS and fielded a competitive team for years but thinking Hosmer changed their outlook for the next few years doesn’t really work.
cwsOverhaul
Good suggestion. Duffy solid fit for Brewers, and they have the prospects. Better than spending a bundle and sacrificing compensatory pick on lesser quality (now) FA arm Arrieta or Cobb.
outinleftfield
Domingo Santana and who else for Duffy?
wellhitball
Not sure what Broxton ‘s trade value is (especially to a rebuilding Royals team), but I’m very confident Phillips would get the deal done.
Santana and Phillips might be an overpay for MIL, but do they really need 5 outfielders? Especially if one of them looks to have quite a bit of growing pains thanks to a 40% K rate (which would hemper their playoff chances a bit)?
If not Phillips, maybe Erceg and Grisham (formerly Clark). Then again, I’m not exactly a Brewers fan so I could be way off.
wellhitball
Sorry, that was a 35% K rate for Phillips last year and a .410 BABIP. And I’m not that confident that Grisham, Erceg, and Santana would get it done but if I were Stearns that’s what I’d try first. I realize that’d leave a glaring hole at 3B on the farm, though. Maybe Hiura could pick up the hot corner?
outinleftfield
That is a good call.
simschifan
Can’t even answer his texts form his old manager? Class act guy
377194
Thinking the same thing.
jbigz12
Feel like this was a highly encouraged move from Boras to strip out emotion and focus on the money.
pdubs2907
Actually I think it’s cheesy as hell of Yost (not that Yost doing cheesy stuff is unusual).
22222pete
Maybe they didnt get along. Its not like he chose him to be manager. Also his agent may have told him not to since Yost may have been after information on behalf of the owners to help in their negotiations
dazedatnoon
Royals have some decent talent in the lower levels but they will have some serious downtime before they become relevant again. Its a bummer for that team the compensation system changed right before three QO free agents walked. Should have sold at the deadline, but can’t blame a team for wanting “one last shot” I suppose (AKA Giants).
cxcx
How is it a bummer that the QO rules just changed? They are getting the same picks they would have gotten under the old system for Cain and Hosmer, picks after the first round. The only issue will be if Moustakas signs for less than $50m, then the pick they get for him will be after Balance B. That might not even happen and if it does it’s just one out of three picks being bumped down. And some of the other teams getting comp picks (Cubs, Cards) will be getting lower picks than under prior system so the Royals are actually being compensated better relative to those teams than they would have been under the old format.
Jockstrapper
I just don’t understand this move from a Padres perspective. So many cheaper first baseman they could’ve signed and used that money on other things like pitching etc. I look forward to several seasons of .271 AVG 12HR and 83RBI in that park.
Pads Fans
If it wasn’t a top 10 first baseman we had no need. Hosmer is top 10 without a doubt. As many people have already said there is no difference between Petco and the Royals park in power numbers. Hosmer will hit just the same for the Padres and that is really, really good.
czontixhldr
He’ll hit the same for the Padres?
By that, I assume you mean he’ll be replacement level every other year, no?
justin-turner overdrive
Hosmer is a prima donna, now he’s getting paid like one. He has never performed like one.
ronaldreagan
What a steal for the Padres, Boras should be embarrassed
Jack Taddy
An open letter to David Stearns:
Go get Danny Duffy. Like now. Maybe Whit Merrifield too. Hell we’ll take Kelvin Herrera while we’re at it.
Signed,
Your Favorite Armchair GM
timtim007
Neither team will more than likely contend for a year or two, so why not take the one offering the most money. Can’t say I blame him. Will be a lot more texes in Cal, but you can’t beat the weather in SD.
Pads Fans
The Padres gave him 8/144. The Royals offered 7/147.
kcpaul
Hopefully, Dayton Moore learned a lesson: Don’t become infatuated with your players. They don’t care about you and will take the money every time, especially if Boras is their agent. Should have traded Moustakas, Holland, Hosmer, Cain and Davis much earlier after winning the WS. Could have had a very quick turnaround instead of facing a five year rebuild now.
pdubs2907
That’s not the players’ fault. We all know it’s a business on both ends. Not selling last year for a highly unlikely playoff run was dumb from the start.
kcpaul
Never said it was the players fault. DM just sees all his players as friends who will want to stick with him. They’re employees. If you can get something better, do it. There is no loyalty from players and shouldn’t be from the team either. If we’re really rebuilding, trade your big pieces now and get on with it. Duffy and Perez won’t be around when we’re good again. Flip them now while the getting is good.
Royal_beating
I wouldn’t say one last playoff push was dumb on Moore’s part. At the trade deadline, they had the second wild card spot. They added a trip of pitchers, plus Melky Cabrera. All but Melky flamed out. If anything was Moore’s fault, it was the inability to add a capable starting pitcher. The pitching was not that great overall.
kcpaul
That one long shot chance at maybe getting into the wild card cost us several years of rebuild. Plus, we didn’t have the team to get back to the WS even if we made the wild card. Like you said, our pitching was below average compared to other strong playoff teams.
MarkTwain60
Thankfully no one suggested to date that perhaps there are pictures of farm animals and team officials as a reason for this signing. $20M per year, could in this year, sign a number of decent players. Actual starting pitchers as an example. Money left over for an OF. Actually this is a worse signing than their likely 2nd choice, reacquiring Matt Kemp and signing Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum.. Fill in the blank: $20M – Hosmer- Padres- .”SDP likely love the Cleveland Browns are the most pathetic organization in the history of pro sports”. I don’t know how old Jerry Turner and Gene Richards are but signing them would not be as moronic as this average or less 1b…It is so bad, the SDP could have promoted Naylor and had better results using $20M than Hosmer.
nymetsking
never knew mark twain dropped acid
bosox90
Common knowledge that he was high as a kite when he wrote Huckleberry Finn. I mean you’d have to be to come up with such a ridiculous name. Huckleberry? Come on!
slider32
Seems like they put the cart before the horse on this one.
Goose
Hosmer gives the Padres a good righty/lefty punch with Myers. I don’t know if he was worth that contract to any other team. You would expect to have a threat of 30+ homers out of a 1B. If the average and OBA remain he would be Joey Votto light.
swanhenge
Just a meh player going to a meh team.
Is Boston really going into the season with what they have?
boltz82
This is a good signing for the Padres. They have one of the best farm systems in baseball with major prospects coming up in the next couple of year. How we is one of baseballs best clubhouse/ leader guys. He also is one of the best in baseball at saving errant throws, leading baseball last year by a wide margin. Entering his prime years as well. Given all that the money is easily well spent.
MiserablePadreFan
Like
cxcx
Most interesting thing here is that Royals will go into a rebuild. Which was sort of obvious, but now that it’s confirmed there should be some Perez rumors.
Guy is 27 and has been an All Star the past five seasons. Should pull Robles et al or some of the Astros top prospects.
Could also see them keeping Moustakas to keep the old thing alive, they might not be able to get post-first round pick for him anyway. Give him 5/$60m or something, keep him and Gordon around.
GenoSeligPrieb
As long as the Royals are rebuilding, any chance they’d deal Duffy for one of the Brewers first basemen, plus a minor league arm or 2?
mikeyst13
Probably a chance they’d deal Duffy now, but no way one of the 1B is a centerpiece. Aguilar doesn’t move the needle enough and Thames wouldn’t draw much interest at all with his bad second half and far less control.
carlos15
The SD offer had to be a lot higher just to balance out the enormous difference in state income taxes between California and Missouri
Pads Fans
Problem with that point of view is that we paid less for him than the royals offered. Both AAV and total dollars. He just saw that he had a better shot to win here and he got an opt out after 5 seasons.
Syndergaarden Cop
“better shot to win here” LOL! both teams suck
outinleftfield
Just so you all are clear, Syndergaarden cop is Yankees Addiction.
22222pete
People seem to underestimate Hosmer. Perhaps in response to now Padres Camerons hit piece. Perhaps deceived by excessive negative position adjustments of WAR, or imperfect defensive metrics.
Pads Fans
Here is my take.
#1 – Hosmer is better than what the Padres had at 1B, 2 or more wins better, and he is better than anything the Padres have in their minor league system. His rings and leadership don’t hurt the youngest team in baseball either.
#2 – Moving Myers to LF improves LF by a couple of wins over the guys that played there last year..
#3 – The team has now gotten better at 1B, 2B, 3B, and LF over what they had on opening day 2017. 2017 was a 71 win team and they got 10 wins better with the upgrades at those positions. Hedges, Margot and Renfroe should improve too.
#4 – I seem to remember the Astros and Cubs being right where the Padres were in 2017 back in 2014 before they each made a couple of signings and a couple of trades and then had breakout seasons in 2015. The Padres are a premier starting pitcher away from contending.
#5 – Headley and Galvis are on one year deals so they are not blocking the Padres two best position player prospects. If Tatis is not ready to take over at SS or 3B as many think is his home next season, Spangenberg LHB and Villanueva RHB is a good platoon at 3B and Urias has proven in AA that he can handle SS.
#6 – There are no top pitching prospects that would be blocked by adding a top starter now. The only pitching prospects with a shot at being top of the rotation starters, Baez, Gore, Morejon and Espinoza are 3 years away. In 2019 Quantrill, Nix, Lauer, Lucchesi and possibly Allen and Diaz will be ready, but by the odds only one will make it as a starter.
#7 – The pitching staff has a good core locked in through 2022. Perdomo is a very talented starter and people need to remember that he was a rule 5 in 2016 and is 2 years removed from Low A ball. By all rights 2018 should be his rookie season and he already has 2 seasons in the majors under his belt. Look for a big improvement from him.. Lamet started 2016 in A+ ball and has a half season in the majors under his belt. When he was on he was electric, downright un-hittable. A little time to built up endurance and he is a TOR starter. Those two a fantastic foundation that is here now. Mitchell, Strahm, Rea, Erlin, and Lockett are talented, but if they are blocked by a better pitcher picked up in FA or in a trade or both that is not a huge loss. Any of them can be sent to the pen and 4 of the 5 can go to El Paso for a year.
#8 – Last but not least this signing and the prospects that are ready in 2018 have made at least 6 talented players with MLB experience trade bait. Jankowski, Dickerson, Asuaje, Cordoba, Pirela, and Szczur. These expendable guys can be packaged with prospects to bring in better pitching for this season and beyond.
This is a good team, a .500 team with no additions, and with a couple of starters they are a Wild Card team. Make it happen Preller.
jeffmaz
Myers has better defensive numbers, UZR and DRD than Hosmer, by far. This was pointed out to me today and I was surprised. In addition, Myers in the OF had horrible numbers too.
lowtalker1
2016 he should have won the gold glove… he got the shaft
2017 he was a nightmare
Pads Fans
Defensive metrics for 1B. are not even remotely close to a real representation of what 1B do. None of them include throws to 1B, only balls hit in his direction and none take into account holding men on base or defensive placement. 1B is different than other positions, but the defensive metrics do not take that into account. Hosmer is the best at catching the ball and getting the out. It is not close.
Myers was league average in RF and LF combined. He was terrible in CF. don’t lump them together since he will not be playing CF now, he will be playing LF.
bosox90
I love your optimism, it’s refreshing on a site full of cynical opinions. The Padres at some point will catch everyone napping. Preller has this team stocked up for the future, if they play their cards right they can be a sustainable force. I like the Hosmer fit. He’s extremely polarizing on this site. It seems the stat heads hate him and the people who watched him daily love what he brings to the table. Call me old fashioned but I’ll take the latter.
mhdunbar99
Padres are a perfect spot for Hosmer. Tons of young talent on a team starving for veteran leadership and consistency. Plus, this will improve Wil Myers “value”…as he will be much better out of the spotlight and not forced into a leadership role (a role for which he is not wired). Padres tending UP!
FriendOfBoras
Absoloutelly right!
Syndergaarden Cop
Nah, you just don’t know what you’re talking about, and are likely a Padre fan and are just happy with them making a big deal, even if it’s a bad one.
lowtalker1
Dfa szuzer or gale is my guess
top jimmy
Calling Duda to the Royals now that Hosmer is off the board.
Syndergaarden Cop
Terrible deal, period. Padres are a joke.
Syndergaarden Cop
Is there a way to block trash like yankeeaddiction?
FriendOfBoras
If you find out let me know so I can block your garbage comments. Thanks.
Syndergaarden Cop
Haha what angry garbage you are
Binnster
Great signing Padres- At least you’re trying to keep up in the West. I’m guessing all the haters are fans of teams that are doing anything. It so hard for small market teams to stay competitive for long durations.
Well said PadreFather great read, I really enjoyed.
Snydergarden Cop -If you don’t have anything intelligent to say,stay off the feed. You’re lacking the intelligence to carry on an intellectual conversation! Your 1st grade education and cross breeding enables you to you to do is say harsh and derogatory comments to everyone. We all understand and forgive you.
You’re a joke!!!
FriendOfBoras
Well said!
Syndergaarden Cop
friendofboassss and yankeeaddiction are one and the same troll loser
Pads Fans
You are both of them.
66TheNumberOfTheBest
Fun game from MLB Network….since the start of 2014…
Player A: .289 77 HR .799 OPS 7.5 WAR
Player B .282 85 HR .835 OPS 7.1 WAR
Any guesses? One is Hosmer, obviously.
66TheNumberOfTheBest
A is Hosmer. He got $144 million.
B is Corey Dickerson. He got DFA’ed.
The Human Toilet
Hosmer can forget about ever winning a Gold Glove again with now playing in the same league as Rizzo, goldy, Votto, Freeman and Belinger
bosox90
Didn’t you read Yankeesaddictions comments? Rizzo is replacement level at best. /s
dvmwitt
All this Hosmer reaction is laughable. What people don’t realize is that San Diego needs a player like him to be the face of the franchise. It’s obvious Myers couldn’t be that guy. This is the Padres’ chance to seize the moment now that the Chargers are gone. They are San Diego’s team now and if they can move up the timeline for winning, then it’s time to do it. We weren’t going to be players in free agency next year. We don’t have anyone coming up in the minors that is going to be the 1b of the future. And don’t say Naylor cuz he’s a fat piece of goo. This move was done not only for the upgrade at 1b but also for the city and what the Padres can mean for San Diego.