Trade interest in outfielder Hunter Renfroe has picked up, according to a tweet from Jon Morosi of MLB.com. The report comes less than 24 hours after the Padres’ signing of Eric Hosmer to an eight-year, $144MM contract.
The signing of Hosmer would seem to displace incumbent first baseman Wil Myers, pushing him back to the outfield where he began his career. That would correspondingly create a logjam in the outfield for the Padres, as Renfroe, Jose Pirela and Manuel Margot had previously seemed tabbed for the three spots there. The team also has Alex Dickerson, Travis Jankowski, Cory Spangenberg and Matt Szczur, all of whom are candidates to compete for at least some at-bats. With all this in mind, it’s no surprise that teams would be calling about the 26-year-old Renfroe. Whether or not the Padres are seriously considering trading him remains to be seen, of course.
Renfroe boasts less than a full season’s worth of MLB at-bats for his career, and has struck out in over 28% of them. His power upside is tremendous, however, and that potential has translated to 30 career long balls thus far. It’s worth noting that after being recalled from the minors on September 18th of last season, Renfroe smashed six homers in his final 11 games of the season. If the former top prospect can work to reduce his sky-high 33.7% career chase rate and improve his contact overall, he’d be a truly valuable hitter for any major league ballclub.
Which teams are interested in acquiring the righty-hitting Renfroe and what they’d be willing to give up is unclear at this time. Morosi notes that the Braves are currently looking to add an outfielder, and Renfroe is a long-term piece (he’s under team control through at least 2023) that could certainly help the Braves during their next window of contention if he pans out. The Indians are in need of a right-handed hitting outfielder as well, though that fit is merely speculative. It’s also easy to wonder at this point whether teams who’ve shown interest in Brewers outfielder Domingo Santana (the Diamondbacks come to mind) might also have interest in Renfroe.
Renfroe was taken 13th overall by the Padres out of Mississippi State University during the 2013 draft, and rose quickly through the minors at first, reaching the Double-A level by the midway point of the following season. Prior to 2016, MLB Pipeline described him has having “plus-plus raw power to his pull side.” The publication also noted one of his biggest drawbacks: an aggressive, lengthy swing that makes him vulnerable to “quality secondary pitches” on the outer part of the plate. He’s long been lauded for his physical strength, as well as the quality of his contact when he’s able to put the bat on the ball.
Nooo Don’t trade him!
Well Domingo is better than Renfroe so there’s that going for the Brewers.
Funny I was thinking the Brewers might actually be in on Renfroe /sarcasm
Stearns won’t be happy until he has ALLof the outfielders……
Building a team like the late Kevin Towers. Nice.
Lol
I’d rather they give him another year to see if he can cut his k rate.
I take it he’s a corner guy, right? What’s his defense like?
Defense is decent, not great not horrible but has a cannon for an arm.
His defense is awful but he has a very strong arm which he likes to show off for no reason.
True
his defense is bad. not average, not good… bad.
His defense was bad but he normally is better
He has one of the best arms in baseball and tied for the lead in assist
Can sure tell the guys that didn’t see him play once but looked at the UZR on Fangraphs before they say he stunk. He was the best defensive OF on the team in the 2nd half according to StatCast. A team that has Manny Margot the defensive whiz. Renfroe had one error after June 24th. Only one error on the season was not a throwing error. The rookie was excited and wanted to show off his arm early in the season and threw a bunch away while throwing out a league best 9 runners along the way. Then he learned his lesson and was simply lights out on defense. This is a kid that played very good defense all through the minors.
Didn’t hear any reports one way or the other about his defense in the minors. I’m more interested in his range and routes than his outfield assists. Kemp had a ton of outfield assists in 2015.
While not quantifiable, you can get sort of get an idea of his defense in the minors if you look at his scouting report on mlb.com’s top 100 prospects for 2016, in which he graded above average on his defense (a 55 grade): “Defensively, Renfroe’s arm strength is nearly as impressive as his power and makes him a clean fit in right field, where he notched 25 assists between the 2014-15 seasons. He’s athletic and moves well for his size, with average speed on the bases and range in the outfield.”
Bad outfielders often have lots of outfield assists because they misplay balls that allow runners to try for extra bases. Renfroe was not good last year, by the eye test or any metric you want to look at.
I’m worried about his head, or lack thereof…
Pleaaaaaaase trade him to the Cubs!!! That would be a much needed upgrade to our current outfield situation, give the padres some of our crap relievers.
How about no
Luckily Ryan has no say in that matter.
Luckily neither do you
While Ryan does have no say in the matter as you’d said … why would the Padres take some “crap relievers” for Renfroe … not likely at all
pretty sure the Cubs already have a logjam in the OF, as seemingly every team in MLB does
PS: I also know how to downvote other people’s comments.
not miami
Ok renfroe for Bryant
Cubs already have 5 outfielders that would play over him.
Why would the cubs thin their bullpen depth – potentially their greatest area of concern – to add a high strikeout powerful corner outfielder? They have every platoon covered already with the versatility of Happ and Zobrist. If anything they will likely deal from position player strength mid season as needs become apparent.
That you bigpapi4ever? Perhaps a kindly site admin would do an IP comparison for bigpapi and Friend of Boras. Same style of trolling.
I’m guessing IP comparison would show FriendOfBoras and yankeeaddiction under the same IP.
This site has really become lax on the trolls in the last few years. They used to crack down more.
Could it be that the site is more popular….there’s a much larger following, therefore “more trolling opportunity”…?
Either way, there sure are plenty of them around…..lol
FriendOfBoras: Your favorite “troll” would love to chime in but I can’t add anything that hasn’t already been said with one exception: You are not helping the perception of Cub fans on this site.
Would not make sense to give up on Renfroe just yet. Give him another year he could be a legitimate 40+ homer guy if he makes contact more.
Andy Greene does not like him.
Why? curious
There was talk that renfoe doesnt take coaching well, which is why he was demoted last year. There was talk about how coaches would give him advice or work on taking pitches and he didnt listen to it well.
oh… that’s a problem. Thanks
Heard that too.
I’m hoping the don’t trade him. He was drafted by the past regime, but he is more of a fit than Dickerson and Pirela. Cordero is a flashy prospect but we need power in that lineup, especially with a lighter hitting Hosmer, and Myers not an enormous power threat. But, if they don’t for Archer. Renfroe, Spang, Quantril, and Laurer is a solid offer
Trade pirela to the brewers to play 2nd for them.
Problem solved.
Send jankowski to the giants for whatever.
Keep sczur as the 4th OF
No !!!
Padres probably hold onto him. This is typical media trying to play matchmaker after a move happens
He trash
like your grammar
This reminds me of Rizzo trade. Padres needs to trust the guy they drafted and developed. Just move Myers to left field and Dickerson could be the backup.
Padres didn’t draft Rizzo though … they traded for him from the Red Sox
If I remember correctly the Padres got Rizzo in the AGone trade
The front office that drafted and started developing Rizzo was Hoyer. When Hoyer went from Boston to SD he traded for Rizzo. When Hoyer went from SD to Chicago he traded for him again. No single team is responsible but one front office does deserve credit for seeing his greatness and paying to get it multiple times.
He’s on the bubble for my last spot in a 16 team, 18 player (15 MLB, 3 MiLB) keeper league…I am definitely interested in seeing if he is dealt and if it would be to a better hitter’s park…all of that aside, he still needs to fine tune some things before he’s a no brainer
Well, that’s the important thing.
“Braves are interested in…..”
We all know that means nothing will happen and they will just settle with what they have.
Yes, AA has proven he can’t pull the trigger.
I’d trade Sean Newcomb for Renfroe. Padres get pitching and Braves get the power at to go with Freeman. Both players are equal in the unknown department.
God, no.
No
put him in a package for archer
Lol
Why would the Rays get another OF?
you act like they are stacked there. I also did say package. Padres have a lot of infielders and pitching prospects they could pair with him to make a nice package.
Lol
Infielders like what spang perila headley ?
Pitchers like what? Rea Erlin ?
Bc you’re not touching anything in the farm
Seriously doubt the trade him or that this rumor came from any team source. Teams may be interested but don’t think the Padres are.
Would definitely like him over Dickerson only question does he have any options left because with that K rate I think he may need a bit more time to develop Mississippi State that got Braves interest written all over it
I’d love to see him in Detroit!
Touki, Demeritte & Anderson for Renfroe & Headley
Who says no & why
Why would the Braves trade Anderson for that?
The Braves need a RH OF bat and he has yrs of control left gotta give something to get something and Renfroe was on the Top prospect lists a year ago they have Allard, Wright, Soroka all ahead of him
The braves.
For the right price both Headley and Renfroe should be get able but I think Renfroe would work great in a platoon with Franchy Cordero. If not Pirela or Spang
Headley has negative value on a trade. Anderson is too valuable on his own for Renfoe. switch Anderson for Ruiz and you have equal value. Or take Headley off the deal and add a mid level prospect and Renfoe for Anderson.
Demeritte is a good player, I’d take him for headley. He was good on the local but extinct High Desert Mavericks.
Id be more interested in anderson and swanson in a package for renfoe and other pieces.
I doubt padres give up on a controllable upside bat at the stage their at. But i’m not gonna pretend i watch much of the padres so i’m curios as to why some padres fans want him gone
How bout Newcomb for Renfroe seems like a good match.
Newcomb has problem walking guys and renfroe has problems striking out. It could work.
Lol no
Acuca for renfroe
That’s a better match
I’d trade Renfroe, Myers, and Margot if you can get good young pitching in return. Of that group I like Margot most, but they are all overrated. I live in San Diego and most Padres “fans” are idiots. They think Wil Myers is really good, when in fact he’s about the 12th best 1B in baseball.
Myers is not their first baseman, Hosmer is.
Myers was their 1B. Myers would be a straight salary dump at this point though. I can’t imagine anything interesting coming back in a trade right now.
Having the 12th best first baseman in a corner OF spot is great when you have a top 10 first baseman playing 1B right?
If only they had a top 10 1b
yes, when are the Padres getting one?
trade your current starting OF…which is young and controllable for 5 years… for young pitching when you have 5 top 100 pitcher prospects and no top 100 OF prospects. makes sense.
renfroe is likely the only one they would consider trading of that group. Margot is a future good glove CF, and Myers is a 20(to 30)hr/20sb hitter… just needs to work on the avg./obp
gold glove*
How is Margot “overrated”? He was just 22 last year. He hit for a .263 ba and the . 313 obp needs to come up, but 13 dongs, 17 steals, played great D and his WAR was around 2.5. Margot’s floor is a solid starting CF and the Padres organization thinks he’s a future all-star. The kid showed well.
And he has 13 dongs…
So many commas in the last paragraph..why?
Who cares?
grammar
Renfroe and Myers to Atl for Acuna. A man can dream
Some of these comments are hard to read. Apparently, a lot of folks think Renfroe is a stud in the making at age 26 and very little mlb success
Judge was 25 with zero big league success when he had his breakout season…
Lol it depends who you ask. Some padres fans believe renfroe has had plenty of big league success already.
Renfroe hit over 25 homers and set Padres rookie homerun record while striking out in way too many at bats. Some people think if he figures out his plate discipline he’ll be a perennial 30+ homerun masher. But how do Padres make room for Franchy Cordero? I think the two will make a perfect platoon.
I love Hunter’s tools. The guy has major pop and a cannon in right. With that being said, he strikes out too much and his “watch me try to yank this” hitting approach sucks. Ship him AJ, he ain’t your bust.
If the braves we’re to go after headley with renfroe, at most I’d offer would be rio Ruiz and Newcomb. Padres get 3b piece and starting pitching. Goes along with their rebuild. Braves get the stop gap 3b until Riley is ready and the power bat they need. I could honestly see this happen if the Braves don’t get Dickerson from the Rays.
We’ll take him in Tampa.
Maybe the Padres and Marlins could get some kind trade together involving Renfro and Castro. You know the Marlins they’d love to dump more salary for a controllable bat. The Padres could use Castro’s offense.
Marlins have talked about moving Straily too.
He’s pretty solid and could hold down the fort until SD’s prospects are ready to contribute?
He’s a controllable asset however, so the Marlins may not part with him now that they’ve cleaned house.
I just remembered that the Padres released Straily a couple years ago…..LOL.
Oh Well……….LOL
lol I remember when we claimed Brad Hand off waivers from the Marlins. Nerd
I’m finding that the Padres are in a good, but difficult position – lots of talent and possibilities, but nowhere to play them, Crowed outfield, crowded infield. That said, talent doesn’t always equal success… and not all talent is the same. Tough to let some of these guys go, but it’s baseball – you can’t get attached to any one player as it skews your view.
I like Freddy (great d, no bat) & Dickerson (good bat, mediocre d) over Szczur (4A outfielder), but all three of them need to find employment elsewhere. The problem is we’d be selling low on all three.
Cordero – deserves a long look, but don’t relegate him to a bench role as it will stifle his development.
Give Renfroe a second chance – unless he’s uncoachable – it’s not like we’re gonna take the division this year.
What we need is strong clubhouse culture to facilitate winning – production is important, but if you’re an uncoachable or bad teammate, you gotta go ‘cuz it destroy’s “TEAM.”
Braves should try a three team trade in which Braves trade markakis and some lesser Pitching to a team that trades to the padres who give us renfroe
So let me get this straight — a bad contract, below AVG fielder in Markakis and lesser pitching (Wisler? Blair?) to a team and ATL gets back a controllable OF with legit power, insane minor numbers and a high K-rate in Renfroe? Sounds about right.
That’s why he said a 3 team trade! because 3 team trades are the answer to impossible trades. if we had a 5 team trade we could probably get Trout, but that’s just ridiculous
Renfro – Margot – Myers is your outfield for many years. Padres, don’t trade Renfro!
My thoughts exactly.
Hunter can crush a baseball. He has a cannon for an arm! If Andy says he is stubborn/not coachable, he is gone. I say keep him, but don’t know about the attitude. Package him with Myers or Headley. Cordero was our best hitter last year and Myers contract is stupid at the back end.
How about renfroe to the Indians for Danny Salazar helps both teams
That a huge overpay on Cleveland’s part, but Renfroe is intriguing. Maybe Ryan Merritt for Renfroe?
Didn’t mean straight up. Sorry. Meant renfroe plus a minor league pitcher top 20 on the padres for Salazar
I see the Red Sox as the most intriguing destination for Renfroe. With the Martinez standoff showing no signs of ending, BOS has to be ready to move in another direction.
Wow, that would be something. Or trade Myers to the Red Sox.
The padres have made some bad trades because they weren’t patient enough with young players. The rizzo trade would be an example. Also, trading trea turner and joe ross would be another example of bad trades. Trading hunter renfroe would be a huge mistake . He will be a power hitting RF for the pads that they will be happy they didn’t trade. Just be patient. he will produce with power and with defense!
But lane field was only 87 feet from home to first
Lol
Braves should jump all over that. Here’s the right-handed power bat they want. Can’t believe the Padres would give up on him so quickly. He only just turned 26 and has only 1 full year in the majors and they drafted him in the 1st round in 2013.
They wont trade him, this is just to light a fire under his butt.
I hope this just stays a rumor. As a Padres fan, I’m tired of giving up on players early (rizzo for example) and shipping them out of town. I really like Renfroe’s potential. Shop Myers if at all possible to fix the outfield log jam. I just don’t think anyone bites on that contract, unfortunately.
I could see Hunter Renfro plus a 50 pitcher going to Atlanta for the return of Matt Wisler and Christian Pache or for Max Fried.
But, a better deal for both teams would be the Padres sending Will Myers and a 50 prospect to Atlanta for Mike Foltynewicz, Matt Wisler and Nick Markakis.
No.
Hunter Renfroe to the Pirates for Tyler Glasnow and a low level minor leaguer.
You misspelled Mitch Keller
I think he’s too good of an athlete and has way too much potential to trade after a partial year. I say give him one more year and hopefully he’s really worked on his defense in the off-season.
I agree. It’s way too early to trade him. He still has plenty of time to make adjustments at the major league level. Like someone posted above, I think these rumors might just be more about lighting a fire under his butt or sending him a message to listen to his coaches more this season.
They sent that message last year when they sent him down to AAA. We should be able to tell pretty quickly whether he got the message or not.Don’t want another Rizzo situation on our hands.
Would like to trade him personally, atm. Never really been a fan of hitters with below to poor plate disipline in general, at least from what I saw of him in 2017. Mabye he can improve his discipline but its hard now a days to see vast improvements. With that being said its because, generally speaking, when you swing outside the strike zone compared to within, your contact and power diminishes. There are exceptions who put the barrel on the bat with below average discipline like Salvador Perez, but I don think Renfore is like that, at least atm. On the other side, good or even average discipline, although not as important as contact, helps hitters see the ball and put the barrel on it instead of chasing outside the zone or even going for pitcher’s pitches within the zone that often results in weak contact. There are exceptions like Guerrero and Beltre, but generally speaking its better to stay within the strike zone, esp when you think of hitters like Trout, Cabrera, Votto, etc. It’s one thing to have poor plate discipline but with the ability to avoid strikeouts, its another to have poor disipline and still strike out often, despite his raw power. I think Renfore’s counterpart would actually be Santana, as I prefer that type of hitter. Both have great power, strikeout, but the reason Santana is better now IMO is because of his great batting eye, not chasing bad pitches, and yes still striking out, but not drawing consistent weak contact last year vs RHP as a result of poor disipline ike Renfore which still ends up as an out. Im not even necessairly saying power hitters with good displine but high strikeout rates are the best, I’d prefer good disipline with good contact/barrel up instead. His eye though seemed much better vs LHP, but I’d prefer a hitter not a platoon role, sometimes I think we take the idea of plate disipline or “Plate vision”/ability to avoid strikeouts and make contact, not nessarily the barrel, but some hitters have better disipline/vision from one side than the other, just fyi.
In sum I do see him hitting 20+ homers but with a low batting average, unless he makes strides toward improving his plate discipline.