1:12pm: ESPN’s Buster Olney reports that Loney secured an opt-out provision in his contract that allows him to take a Major League opportunity if it presents itself elsewhere (Twitter link). The Padres, though, do have right of first refusal, so they’ll have a chance to put him on their own big league roster first if another club does offer a 25-man roster spot.
APRIL 8, 8:00am: While there’s no official word from the team yet, Loney himself announced that he has signed in San Diego late last night (Twitter link).
APRIL 7: The Padres have agreed to a minor league pact with first baseman James Loney, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link). Loney had, of course, been released recently by the Rays, who remain on the hook for his $8MM salary for the coming season — less whatever he ends up earning in San Diego (or elsewhere), which almost certainly won’t exceed the league minimum rate of pay.
Loney, who’ll turn 32 in a month, was displaced by several offseason acquisitions by Tampa Bay. Coming off of a strong platform year, he inked a three-year pact with the Rays before 2014. Things didn’t go as hoped, however, as Loney took a step back in the first campaign and ended last year with a subpar .280/.322/.357 slash over just 388 plate appearances.
Despite showing some potential early in his career, power has never been Loney’s calling card. But at his best, he delivers a high average with solid on-base numbers while carrying a quality glove at first. Of course, advanced metrics soured on his work in the infield over the last two seasons. It’s worth noting, too, that Loney carries fairly drastic platoon splits, and is best off avoiding opposing southpaws.
For San Diego, Loney adds another piece to an organization that has struggled offensively out of the gates. Wil Myers figures to play every day at first, but could move to the outfield at times if the new addition becomes an option against righties. Of course, Brett Wallace occupies a similar role on the current roster, so Loney will have to earn an opportunity just to crack the majors.
It will be like Yonder Alonso never left.
the only reason I disagree a bit is because Alonso cant stay healthy…Loney, on the other hand gave teams 3 things. a very solid glove…OBP, and a lot of games played. If your first baseman cant give you pop, he needs to give you all those other things that Loney has given. The Padres are starving for OBP and a very solid glove at first. That would be Loney’s calling card, in my opinion.
His .OBP, glove, and games played has trended down the past three years. Last year he produced a negative WAR and only played 104 games. Maybe San Diego can fix him and he can go back to being productive, but I can see why the Rays would release him.
Sounds like AAA might be a perfect place for him then. I see this as a depth move. If Myers gets hurt or Wallace fails, Loney gets a chance.
Good pickup…
Good Signing,. Myers will be injured soon enough and Wallace is definitely not a starter. His defense is so bad that his teammates in the minors nicknamed him “Ole”. Those are guys that liked him.
Do you have inside info on his nickname? Tried to Google and couldn’t verify
I think its a great pickup because I need on base percentage and defense from Loney. Im not looking for homers from him. He’s been around for a decade and has never hit 20 homers. He is what he is.. Myers is not a first baseman. I just think that experiment is going to fall flat just like his CF adventures. The kid is a mediocre LFer with some athleticism in his body. He’ll catch what he should catch.
believe it or not, his best position is probably catcher. Thats what he was when KC drafted him…and his bat followed his catching skills, because he was comfortable. He wont admit it, but I dont think he’s really as comfortable anywhere, but where he started behind the plate. But then you wonder why they wont let him catch, and it starts with his injury history. So, yea….I think the Loney pickup is on point…Myers will probably end up in LF again. And God only knows what happens with Upton.
Jesus, this team is a hot mess, lol.
So, in your opinion Myers can catch (something he hasn’t done since very early in his MiLB career) but can’t play 1st, the position most catchers (Mauer, Napoli, Montero, McCann last year, Jaso, and many others) eventually transition to very successfully? Ok..
I think Myers can be an excellent defensive first baseman. He has the physical tools of a Brandon Belt type. I want to see him get at least a half-season to learn the tricks of the trade before they even consider moving him off the position.
Myers could have probably caught in the majors, but his bat, in the minors, far outpaced his catching ability. He’s also always hurt, and catching certainly wouldn’t help that at all.
Unfortunately, there’s really nothing that James Loney does well anymore. His defense has certainly declined (which was overrated to begin with – very typical “he’s not a big bat so he MUST have a good glove” kind of mentality), he isn’t able to sustain a high AVG/OBP anymore, he has no pop and no positional flexibility – being limited to the least valuable fielding position around – and he’s strictly a platoon guy.
He reminds me now, of a poor mans Lyle Overbay – which is saying something not good.
There’s not really room for a guy on an MLB roster who does nothing well.
Don’t put a lot of stock into defensive metrics. They are an unstable mess. They can rate a player well above average defensively one year, well below the next, and above average the next.
ERA and batting average can also fluctuate wildly from year to year. Do you put stock in those statistics?
Yeah, but watch Loney play. He just doesn’t have the small bit of athleticism he once had at first. His range has declined every year. He’s still sure handed enough, still has that ability to scoop throws, still has that bad throwing arm. Generally as any player ages his defense gets worse, not better, and doesn’t tend to even stabilize. Tampa was paying him a bunch of money, and as tight-fisted as they are even they didn’t see any reason to keep him on the roster.
I was really hoping for a Rockies pick up here. I was actually hoping that the Rox made a trade for him earlier this offseason. It’s not like Mark Reynolds and Ben Paulsen are entrenched at first like Todd Helton or anything. Loney is not a great player on the surface, but he ALWAYS looked great at Coors. He killed them with the Dodgers and still killed them when the Rays came last year. If there was ever the epitome of a “Coors Field creation” for a player that has never been with Colorado it is Loney.
Wow, if ever there was a team Loney did not need to play home games for, its SD. Horrendous signing for both sides.
Had to be only offer he had, right? To go the NL is silly enough, to that team and that park.
Couldn’t the white sox have used a true back up 1st base left handed bat that could DH vs righties on a minor league deal?
Hope this works out for James, would be a good fit as the Padres really need an actual 1B and James lives about 15 minutes from Petco.
Bad team signs bad player. Nothing to see here. Move along
He better
Myers can also p,ay RF,3B.
3B? i doubt that
Yes 3b, that is where he should be. He’s played there.
Myers only has 15 professional games at third base, and they all came back in 2012 between Double-A and Triple-A. I don’t think the Padres would consider him an option there.
Just because Myers can stand around at 3rd doesn’t mean he can play the position. He’s never played there in the majors and the notion of transitioning him, at the major league level, to third base is probably a really bad idea; Myers doesn’t even look like he can play first. His only position on the field should probably be left field.
Should have added Jesus Montero. Why add a proven guy, who proves he can’t hit.
So now they’ll try Loney at first? Eh, good luck to him, but this team is a mess right now.