Veteran first baseman Adrian Gonzalez said in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (Twitter link) that he is “preparing to play next year.” If he does end up playing, though, he says that’ll likely be the end of his career.
Gonzalez opened the 2018 campaign with the Mets, who promised him only the league-minimum since the Braves (via the Dodgers) were already carrying the rest of the tab on the remainder of his contract. He ended up being cut loose after appearing in just 54 games. All told, the former star has struggle mightily over the past two seasons, producing a cumulative .240/.292/.363 slash with nine home runs in 439 plate appearances.
Needless to say, that recent track record suggests that Gonzalez will not be in significant demand this winter. It probably does not help that he has also dealt with back troubles and did not play again after being released by the Mets. Of course, the veteran will now be coming off of a lengthy rest.
Gonzalez says he did have options to put on another uniform in 2018, but elected not to since what was available “didn’t make sense.” Just what he’ll be looking for in the coming offseason isn’t quite clear, but it’s at best questionable that he’ll be offered a 40-man roster spot.
Beyond his lack of defensive versatility and limited baserunning capacity, Gonzalez’s limitations at the plate will be a major factor. Even those teams that think there could still be a spark will assuredly only see him as an option to hoist the bat against right-handed pitching. Gonzalez has, after all, struggled badly against southpaws over the past several years.
…and I hope to win the lotto
Me too!
I don’t hope that he wins the lotto; I hope that I win it instead.
Thanks for your support Jorge
Why bother with the lotto,when you can pocket an extra hundred thousand to show up in some teams camp..
Pretty outragious to think this guy got around 800 , 000 dollars last year for 54 awful performances.
The market this winter will once again be flush with an army of first basemen the majority of whom will be lucky to get a 1-year deal or even a minors offer. That bad back and dwindling production might make him Plan C or D at best with even the neediest organizations.
I would bet against him earning a contract. Personally, if we’re deciding between bat only players to take a shot on on a camp deal, I’d go for Chris Carter, Adam Lind or Hanley Ramirez before A-Gon. He was rough last season unfortunately.
So you’re betting he’ll get a contract, he just won’t earn it?
Well, he’s a veteran and therefore is anointed with magical “leadership” qualities from the baseball gods, so he has a shot.
He seems like a subpar clubhouse presence.
I would agree with you. JJb is incorrect.
A-Gon should stay gone
Sure, and I hope this dang hurricane misses me.
Be safe…I was in Ft Walton for Frederick
Dang, so was I. Got evacuated to Eglin AFB.
That was the only time I visited Florida. Of course, now I’m visiting SC.
I was stationed at Hurlburt. Mobile got clobbered pretty hard. This one is worse
Hello, Detroit! Seems like the kind of player the Tigers could sign. He can share first base/dh duties with Miggy, and they might get something in return in July if he turns things around.
Detroit is going to give Castellanos some games at 1B. Stewart is a minus defender so you cannot have a big picture plan with both he and Nick in the OF. Unless Detroit has already accepted that Castellanos will be leaving next year they need to let him have those games at 1B
over 75% of mlb position players lack versatility and 99.99% of pitchers.
Most position players are starters. You want your reserve bench guys to have versatility. Adrian would be lucky to get a starting position so versatility and ability to play The Outfield along with first or third base would be optimal.
A-gone your a class act. Time to say goodbye.
Obviously, you’re not a Boston fan. Class act he isn’t
Nobody ever said that about Gonzales in LA, or San Diego for that matter. Funny how that works.
In San Diego, he was used to a “regular” schedule. Boston is a high-profile team with a lot of games on ESPN. One of Gonzalez’ first comments in Boston was how stupid and inconvenient it was to have to play on Sunday nights. And it went downhill from there.
He played under the big lights in LA for more than five years with just a few nationally televised games and a bunch of postseasons. I know, he offended the tender sensibilities of the fans in Boston. Not that they need to get over themselves or anything.
The crowds in LA show up late and act like they ate a fistful of ludes before the game.
We’ve led the league in attendance for the past few years and have gone deep in the playoffs with sellout crowds the entire way through. You can stick to your outdated stereotypes out of jealousy, but you’re wrong. It’s a good baseball city. I can see why a good portion of past players have disliked playing in Boston. After a while, you have to look in the mirror and stop making excuses.
Gonzalez has a lot of class. Too bad it’s all third.
Can’t hit, can’t run and can’t field. Not sure what skillset he thinks he’s bringing.
By saying that if he plays in 2019 it would be his last season, all he’s saying is he wants to go out on his own terms. Not be cut or let go like the Mets, Braves, Dodgers did to him. Lot of Pride there.
Gonzales never could run but he could always field his position with the best of them, though only the one. I wouldn’t be surprised if he got an invitation to spring training somewhere. If his body is healed up and his hitting comes back he might be a LHB off the bench or DH somewhere. Still a long shot, and whether he’d be interested in that kind of opportunity remains to be seen. But it isn’t as if he has anything to prove. He can hang it up after having made major contributions in San Diego and LA. If he was hated in Boston, well, that’s just Boston fans for you and it wouldn’t be the first time.
The Dodgers and the LA fans started to dislike him when he went on vacation during the World Series. That’s why the Dodgers had a fire sale for him.
Speak for yourself. And if you don’t know why he was traded maybe you should not be commenting.
I do know why he was traded. Just because you live under a bridge doesn’t mean everyone else does. Why did he go on vacation during the World Series? No one knows except he may have felt he was mistreated even though the Dodgers treated him very well. You’re thinking the addition of Bellinger made him expendable. He was still the top offensive contributor for the Dodgers for many years and he would still have value to the Dodgers since Bellinger could play the outfield. But he dug his own grave. His trade for Kemp was a salary dump for both teams.
No, he was no longer a top offensive contributor. He’d been on the DL for weeks at that point, his injury-plagued and sub-par season long over. Where was he supposed to be, in the dugout? Since when do we keep track of any player who isn’t on the active roster? Since when do we care? The answer is, the vast majority of fans neither know nor care, and the ones who do are just looking to create a phony controversy. The fans in Boston love that kind of thing. Not so much in LA or elsewhere.
The trade was not a salary dump for both teams. In fact the value of the salaries exchanged was roughly equal. The difference for the Dodgers was the money was spread out over two seasons instead of one, which got them under the luxury tax. That was the only goal for the Dodgers. For their troubles the Braves netted themselves Culbertson and two potentially useful pitchers. Gonzales was immediately released by Atlanta and the Dodgers were expected do the same with Kemp.
He would be better off cutting a hole in his pocket
I think he means he hopes to play MLB 2019
Kudos to A-Gon!
If it wasn’t for him, the Nick Punto salary dump never would have happened.
I guess I’ll be the only one to say that I think he has a chance to make it to MLB next year. You all act like star players don’t have a few down years and then a productive one. I hope he lands a spot on an AL team. Good luck Adrian!
remember matt kemp?
No comparisons needed. AGon hasn’t had the ceiling of Matt Kamp since his Red Sox days.
He’s not washed up though. In an early morning talk show, Mets front office flunky and resident goof ball, “TC” revealed that Fred is inclined to bring him back as long as he steals the contract.
When questioned on his 2018!stats, “TC” responded that Fred doesn’t care much for analytics and that he is a respectful and nice young man”.
His best chance is signing on to a team like The Marlins and Orioles on a minor league deal.
Why? The Orioles will be playing kids on the South side of 30. If they want to watch flailing at the plate, C. Davis will give them plenty to watch.
Veteran Leadership? Bring back Adam Jones. They don’t seem likely to do that.
Good, now he can stay at whatever hotel he wants (on his own dime) #MAGA
His bat speed is currently measured by a calendar. A once great hitter, but it’s time to call it a day
The guy was part of a cancer in Red Sox clubhouse and shipped to LA, once a powerful hitter but Father Time has no timeouts – Adrian call it a day. You’ve been done for awhile now let it go….
Where’s he going to play? A Mexican barn storming league?
he will be someone’s pinch-hitter so he could say he retired while playing on a team not released
If you sign AGon, you know your teams season is over.
He is preparing to play, several things came to mind, just none of them were baseball.
Slow pitch softball?