The Padres will offer Ryan Ludwick a contract through arbitration, GM Jed Hoyer told MLBTR. The Padres have limited payroll and a surplus of outfielders that includes Cameron Maybin, Kyle Blanks, Will Venable, Scott Hairston, Chris Denorfia, Aaron Cunningham and Tony Gwynn, so MLBTR had identified Ludwick as a non-tender candidate. But Hoyer says he's comfortable having outfield depth, so the Padres will offer Ludwick arbitraiton.
The 32-year-old is heading into his final season before free agency. He earned 5.45MM in 2010 and has hit 76 home runs over the course of the past three seasons, so he'll surpass the $6MM mark in 2011 and could earn close to $7MM. Hoyer says it's a fair price for an outfielder as powerful as Ludwick.
Jeff Fletcher of AOL FanHouse said on Twitter yesterday that Ludwick would be offered arbitration.
