6 NL West Hitters Looking For Bounce-Back Years
Our preseason series focusing on notable hitters and pitchers hoping to rebound from less-than-ideal 2019 outings wraps up in the National League West. We’ll start with six hitters who enjoyed productive 2018 campaigns before falling short last season…
Manny Machado, 3B, Padres:
By no means did the 27-year-old Machado perform poorly in 2019, his first season as a Padre. He just didn’t offer the type of production the team likely expected when it signed him to a then-record free-agent contract worth $300MM over 10 years. Whereas the four-time All-Star thrived with the Orioles and Dodgers the year before he joined the Friars, he has been more good than great in San Diego so far. Across 661 trips to the plate last season, Machado batted .256/.334/.462 – enough for a 108 wRC+ (he was at 131 in 2018). He did mash 32 home runs and finish in the majors’ 87th percentile in average exit velocity, but Machado struck out in nearly 5 percent more plate appearances compared to 2018. Furthermore, according to Statcast, Machado’s hard-hit percentage fell by just over 4 percent.
Jurickson Profar, 2B, Padres:
The former can’t-miss prospect finally looked to be turning a corner at the major league level in 2018, his last year with the Rangers. Unfortunately, though, Profar’s output tanked in his lone season with the Athletics in 2019. The 27-year-old switch-hitter could only muster a .218/.301/.410 line (89 wRC+) and 1.3 fWAR in 518 PA, and Statcast rated him near the bottom of the league in several important metrics. As a second baseman, Profar garnered all negative reviews (minus-15 Defensive Runs Saved, minus-3 Outs Above Average, minus-1 Ultimate Zone Rating). Still, the Padres are taking a chance on a bounce-back year for Profar, whom they acquired in a winter trade. The move reunited him with ex-Rangers executive and current Padres general manager A.J. Preller.
David Peralta, OF, Diamondbacks:
Peralta had a terrific year in 2018, smacking 31 home runs and accounting for 3.9 fWAR, but a nagging right shoulder injury prevented him from a proper encore last season. The 32-year-old wound up with just 12 homers in 423 plate appearances, in which he registered an overall line barely above average (.275/.343/.461 – good for a 107 wRC+), saw his isolated power number fall by 37 points and his expected weighted on-base average plummet by 49 points. Nevertheless, the Diamondbacks are giving Peralta the benefit of the doubt, evidenced by the two-year, $22MM extension they handed him in January.
Brandon Crawford, SS, Giants:
Crawford entered last year with six straight seasons of at least 2.0 fWAR, but he dropped to 0.4 in that category in 2019. Crawford hit just .228/.304/.350 (74 wRC+) in 560 PA, and even his well-regarded defense declined. For the first time in his career, the 33-year-old graded negatively in both DRS (minus-4) and UZR (minus-0.4). Not reassuring for the Giants, who still owe Crawford $30MM through 2021.
Enrique Hernandez, UTIL, Dodgers:
The versatile Hernandez was quite effective in 2018, during which he posted 3.2 fWAR, but that number checked in at a far less impressive 1.2 last season. The problem? A massive decline in offensive production. Hernandez’s wRC+ (88) represented a 30-point fall, while his OPS (.715; .237/.304/.411) lost 91 points. It didn’t help that Hernandez endured a 4-plus percent increase in strikeouts and a 3 percent decrease in walks.
Daniel Murphy, 1B, Rockies:
Count Murphy as another recent free-agent signing gone awry for the Rockies, who inked him to a two-year, $24MM contract in December 2019. Year 1, perhaps the weakest offensive season of his career, couldn’t have gone much worse for Murphy. The 34-year-old ‘s .279/.328/.452 line doesn’t look terrible on paper, but when adjusted for ballpark, it only amounted to a wRC+ of 86. Murphy also had a miserable season in terms of Statcast output and recorded a negative fWAR (minus-0.2) for the first time ever.
Breakout Candidate: Dinelson Lamet
Padres right-hander Dinelson Lamet may not be among Major League Baseball’s household names yet, but it could be only a matter of time before he joins those ranks. While Lamet hasn’t come close to preventing runs at an elite clip since he made his MLB debut in 2017, he has shown flashes that suggest a true breakout may not be out of the question.
Now 27 years old, Lamet caught on with the Padres out of the Dominican Republic in 2014. The franchise brought in Lamet, then 21, for $100K two years after a deal with the Phillies fell through. San Diego has since benefited from that fairly low-risk move.
After ascending through the minors, where he didn’t garner a significant amount of Triple-A experience, Lamet showed off a tantalizing fastball-slider mix during his first taste of MLB action three years ago. He wound up making 21 starts and tossing 114 1/3 innings of 4.57 ERA/4.35 FIP ball with 10.94 K/9 and 4.25 BB/9.
The hope, of course, was that Lamet would build on his respectable first-year effort the next season. Instead, though, he was forced to undergo Tommy John surgery on his pitching elbow in April 2018. The procedure cost Lamet that entire year and the majority of his last season, but he enjoyed an extremely promising showing after returning July 4.
Lamet shook off the rust with 14 starts and 73 frames of 4.07 ERA/3.91 FIP pitching. Those run prevention totals may not look sensational, but a deeper dive gives reason to believe that Lamet will continue his rise. Not only did Lamet cut his walk rate (3.7 per nine), but his strikeout rate rose to a jaw-dropping 12.95. Among 146 starters who threw at least 70 innings, Lamet ranked behind only Gerrit Cole and Chris Sale in K/9. His strikeout percentage (33.6) trailed just Cole, Sale, Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Mike Clevinger. The other members of the top 10? Blake Snell, Lucas Giolito, Jacob deGrom and Robbie Ray. With the exceptions of Lamet and Ray (a solid starter in his own right), there isn’t a single pitcher there who’s not a front-line option.
Adding to the good news, Lamet was something of a Statcast hero during his abbreviated 2019. Take a look at where he ranked in these categories…
- Hard-hit rate: 69th percentile
- Expected weighted on-base average: 71st percentile
- Average exit velocity: 77th percentile
- Curve spin: 79th percentile
- Fastball spin: 81st percentile
- Average fastball velocity: 89th percentile
- Strikeout percentage: 93rd percentile
Well above average across the board. Lamet got there owing in part to an increase in velo (his average fastball reached 96.1 mph) and a slider that, according to Fangraphs’ pitch values, was among the most dominant offerings of its kind. As Ben Clemens of FanGraphs explained last August, Lamet was benefiting at the time from adding a second slider to his repertoire.
Lamet’s repertoire may have him on the cusp of busting out, though he’ll have to get the home runs under control. Granted, last season was a homer-happy year across baseball, but Lamet’s HR-to-fly ball percentage (19.7) was still bloated compared to most starters’. And that’s not going to work for someone who has induced grounders at a paltry 36.8 percent rate since he first set foot in the majors.
Aside from a need to cut down on HRs moving forward, Lamet also must show he can continue to stay healthy. That’s obviously not always easy for any hurler, let alone one with such a serious surgery in his past. But if Lamet can hold up, the Padres may have a potential breakout starter on their hands. That would be all the more welcome for a team that already has Chris Paddack fronting its rotation with MacKenzie Gore and Luis Patino among its prospects getting closer to the bigs.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
NL West Notes: Buster, Pagan, Padres, Barfield
“I don’t see myself playing for any other team. Not that going to another team would diminish what you did. But personally, as a fan, I like to see guys stay with the same team. So no, I wouldn’t want to play anywhere else,” longtime Giants catcher Buster Posey told The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly (subscription required) about his baseball future. Posey has two guaranteed years remaining on his contract, plus San Francisco has a $22MM club option ($3MM buyout) for the 2022 season that is e exercised — 2022 will be Posey’s age-35 season and his production has declined over the last two years as Posey has dealt with hip surgery and the subsequent recovery process. That said, Posey was able to engage in a full offseason workout regiment this winter and was on a hitting tear during Spring Training, so there’s certainly some optimism that he could at least approach his old form.
With at least two years to go before any sort of decision needs to be made, it remains to be seen if Posey could seek out a contract with a new team, retire at the end of his current pact, or perhaps re-sign with the Giants. This latter option could see Posey in a backup catcher/veteran mentor role at that stage of his career, particularly since San Francisco has one of the game’s best prospect (Joey Bart) in line as their catcher of the future. Interestingly, a move to first base for Posey doesn’t seem be an option at the moment, as the Giants aren’t planning to use Posey as a first baseman this season, to the point that Posey hasn’t been taking any grounders at first this spring.
More from the NL West…
- The Padres agreed to terms with 24 pre-arbitration players on contracts for the 2020 season, though Emilio Pagan‘s deal was renewed after the newly-acquired reliever didn’t come to terms with the team, Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes. Pagan will earn $591K in 2020 before becoming reaching arbitration eligibility next winter. Pagan becomes the latest notable player to have his contract renewed, a process Jeff Todd explored in a recent MLBTR YouTube video entry.
- As part of a reader mailbag piece, MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell looked at how the Padres could manage their 26-man roster, such as the increasing possibility that the team will carry only four outfielders. Cassavell figures that Wil Myers, Trent Grisham, and Tommy Pham have the starting jobs spoken for, while Franchy Cordero, Josh Naylor, and Abraham Almonte are competing for the fourth outfielder role. This would leave room for San Diego to use its 26th roster spot on a utility player. For added outfield depth, the likes of Greg Garcia, Francisco Mejia, or Jurickson Profar could all handle such a fill-in role if necessary. That wouldn’t necessarily be how the Padres would like to optimize Profar, since the club was already intent on using him at primarily at second base, though since Cassavell notes that the Padres’ second base competition could stretch into the season, Profar will need somewhere to find playing time if Brian Dozier or Garcia earn more looks at the keystone.
- Josh Barfield was promoted to the role of farm director for the Diamondbacks this offseason, as The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan (subscription required) looks at how the former big league infielder has quickly climbed the ladder during his five-plus years in Arizona’s front office. Hired as a scout by former D’Backs general manager Dave Stewart in the 2014-15 offseason, Barfield has moved from assistant director of pro scouting to assistant farm director to his current position. Barfield’s rising star hasn’t gone unnoticed around baseball, as current GM Mike Hazen told Buchanan that other teams have tried to hire Barfield away. A future position as a “manager or GM might not be far behind” for the 37-year-old Barfield, Buchanan writes.
Latest On MLB, Coronavirus
11:10am: Teams throughout the league have been sending scouts home this morning, and Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that “just about every team, if not every team” has taken this step. Meanwhile, in an unlocked article that is not behind the web site’s paywall, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal runs through several potential pandemic-related issues and courses of action for the league.
As for any actual action from the league, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that the league is likely to provide some clarity today. At this point, it feels inevitable that the league will make a statement on the status of Spring Training games and the regular season in the very near future.
1:55am: The coronavirus outbreak led the National Basketball Association to suspend its season on Wednesday. It’s unclear how Major League Baseball will react before its regular season is scheduled to begin March 26, but it’s becoming increasingly likely that the pandemic will have a sizable effect on its plans.
It’s possible, for instance, that some of the league’s teams will start 2020 by playing regular-season games outside of their normal home venues. That already seems to be the case for the Mariners, who are “likely” to host their season-opening series in the Phoenix area instead of in Seattle, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN.com. But they may not be the only club in that situation. The state of California has recommended limiting public gatherings to 250 people for the rest of March, which means the Dodgers, Padres and Athletics could either play their initial series elsewhere or have those sets postponed, Passan tweets. All three of those teams are scheduled to play at home until early April.
For now, MLB executives aren’t slated to discuss how they’ll proceed until a Friday conference call, per Passan. However, with the NBA shutting itself down and the National Hockey League possibly poised to make a similar announcement on Thursday, perhaps MLB will reach a decision on how it will move forward sooner than expected. The hope is that the league will come up with a plan “within days,” three high-level team officials told Passan.
Quick Hits: Suarez, Puk, Trammell, Braves
Injured Reds third baseman Eugenio Suarez continues to make progress in his recovery from the right shoulder surgery he underwent in January, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com relays. Manager David Bell announced that Suarez will make his spring training debut Friday. Suarez won’t play the field in that game, but optimism continues to build that the slugger will be ready for Opening Day.
Now for the latest on a few other clubs…
- Athletics hurler A.J. Puk has been down with a mild shoulder strain for a week, but the left-hander said Monday that he expects to resume throwing Tuesday (Twitter links via Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle). While Puk’s still hopeful that he’ll be set to go for the beginning of the regular season, he added that he doesn’t “want to rush anything. It’s a long season and I’d rather be feeling healthy down the stretch.” The promising Puk, 24, hasn’t experienced a healthy big league season yet. He missed 2018 because of Tommy John surgery and then combined for fewer than 40 professional innings last year as he worked his way back. However, he did toss 11 1/3 quality frames from the A’s bullpen late in the season. If Puk’s health holds up in 2020, he could emerge as a key member of Oakland’s rotation.
- Although he hasn’t played above the Double-A level yet, Padres outfield prospect Taylor Trammell remains in consideration for a major league roster spot, per AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. It’s a long shot that Trammell will actually begin the year in the majors, according to Cassavell, but manager Jayce Tingler noted that the 22-year-old is “playing really well” and has had “a great experience” in spring training. Trammell, whom the Padres acquired from Cincy in a blockbuster trade last summer, has gone 9-for-23 with three doubles and a triple this spring.
- Lefty A.J. Minter and righty Chad Sobotka‘s bids to earn season-opening roster spots with the Braves have already ended. The team optioned the pair Monday, leaving it with 52 players on its camp roster, David O’Brien of The Athletic tweets. Neither pitcher performed well for the Braves last year. Minter walked a little over seven hitters per nine, contributing heavily to a hideous 7.06 ERA in 29 1/3 innings. Sobotka wasn’t much better over his 29 frames, in which he logged a 6.21 ERA with 5.9 walks per nine and an HR/9 of 1.86.
Quick Hits: Sanchez, Mercado, Singer, Guerra
Yet another Yankees star is dealing with an injury, as Gary Sanchez has missed the last two days of Spring Training action due to back soreness. Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including George A. King III of the New York Post) that Sanchez will also sit out Monday’s game before hopefully returning to the field on Tuesday, though “we will kind of see how he responds.” Sanchez said his back was already feeling improved after a day off, so there doesn’t appear to be any reason for serious concern at this point, despite Sanchez’s already rather checkered health history (plus the seemingly never-ending string of injuries to afflict the Yankees over the last year).
More from around the baseball world….
- Oscar Mercado had an injury scare of his own when he left Thursday’s game after hurting his wrist diving for a ball in center field. The Indians outfielder was diagnosed with a sprain, but “thankfully it was nothing” serious, Mercado told MLB.com’s Mandy Bell and other reporters this afternoon. Mercado has already discarded the wrap that he had around his wrist for the last two days, and is now “getting better every day” after some initial discomfort. “I’ve dove for balls, caught my wrist and stuff, it’s never hurt….That was one where I dove and I knew it was awkward, but the pain was pretty big, so I got scared,” Mercado said. Given the positive early reports, Mercado might be on pace to achieve his goal of playing in Cleveland’s Opening Day lineup.
- The Royals continue to look at top prospect Brady Singer in big league camp, and there’s still a chance Singer could fill the fifth starter role, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan writes. Singer has a 4.76 ERA over 5 2/3 spring innings, striking out six batters and walking four. Given that Singer has never even pitched at the Triple-A level yet, it would be a surprise to see him in the majors quite so soon, though Kansas City is clearly intrigued by the 23-year-old. Selected 18th overall in the 2018 draft, Singer posted a 2.85 ERA, 8.4 K/9, and 3.54 K/BB rate over 148 1/3 combined innings at the high-A and Double-A levels, and is cited on the current top-100 prospect lists posted by MLB.com (59th) and Baseball Prospectus (64th). There isn’t necessarily any urgency about the Opening Day roster, as since the Royals won’t need a fifth starter until April 8, Singer could continue to work out at extended Spring Training. If not Singer, K.C. could use Jorge Lopez as a fifth starter, or perhaps use an opener rather than a traditional starter to handle the rotation spot.
- Javy Guerra has recorded five strikeouts over 5 1/3 scoreless Spring Training innings, and is looking like a realistic candidate to make the Padres‘ Opening Day bullpen, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes. Guerra (not to be confused with longtime veteran reliever Javy Guerra, who pitches for the Nationals) was once a highly-regarded shortstop prospect coming up in the Padres’ farm system, but his progress stalled after three lackluster years at the plate. He converted to pitching at the end of last year’s Spring Training in an effort to revive his career, and the early returns have been very impressive — Guerra posted a 3.38 ERA, 12.7 K/9, and 3.00 K/BB rate over 21 1/3 combined innings at high-A and Double-A ball last season before getting an eight-game audition in San Diego’s bullpen last season. Now, the out-of-options Guerra is throwing his fastball at 99mph and, according to manager Jayce Tingler, could be in line for a multi-inning relief role. “I’ve never seen somebody in (11) months go from shortstop to do what he’s done on the mound,” Tingler said. “I’ve seen guys converted. I’ve never seen such easy strikes with such premier velocity with movement and the ability to throw a secondary pitch. Then having a shortstop background, somebody who can bounce off and make…plays, it’s like having a fifth infielder out there.”
Cubs Targeted Dinelson Lamet, Others In Previous Kris Bryant Talks With Padres
The Cubs and Padres discussed various scenarios involving third baseman Kris Bryant but were (obviously) unable to come to an agreement, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union Tribune reports. Specifically, the Cubs showed interest in right-hander Dinelson Lamet. Catching prospect Luis Campusano was also a potential target.
It’s hardly a shock to see the pitching-needy Cubs pursuing a controllable big league arm like Lamet. The 27-year-old returned from Tommy John surgery in 2019 and gave the Padres 73 innings (14 starts) of 4.07 ERA ball with a massive 13.0 K/9 against 3.7 BB/9 and 1.48 HR/9. Lamet averaged 96.1 mph on his heater and posted a gaudy 14 percent swinging-strike rate in addition to high-end spin rates on his heater and breaking ball.
Beyond Lamet’s ability to miss bats, he’s controlled for four seasons, which surely holds appeal considering the Cubs could see both Jon Lester and Jose Quintana hit free agency next winter. His fit on the 2020 club would be clear as well; currently, the Cubs’ hope is that Tyler Chatwood can hold down the fifth starter’s role — a task that he hasn’t been up to in either of the first two seasons of his ill-fated three-year, $38MM deal. Installing Lamet as a fifth option behind Lester, Quintana, Yu Darvish and Kyle Hendricks would’ve been considered an upgrade.
Lamet, though, is also viewed as a key part of the Padres’ 2020 plans. He’s expected to hold down a rotation spot alongside Chris Paddack, Garrett Richards, Zach Davies and Joey Lucchesi. The back of the Padres’ rotation will be a bit in flux as their wave of high-end prospects — headlined by MacKenzie Gore and Luis Patino — continue to push toward the big leagues. Lamet, though, has perhaps the highest upside of anyone other than Paddack in that initial quintet.
The 21-year-old Campusano, meanwhile, has significantly elevated his status over the past year. A second-round pick back in 2017, Campusano hit .325/.396/.509 in 487 plate appearances against against much older competition in Class-A Advanced in 2019. He’s now widely considered to be among the game’s 100 best prospects — ranking as high as No. 33 overall in the estimation of ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel.
While Bryant wouldn’t exactly be a clean fit into the Padres’ lineup in terms of position, his bat would represent a major upgrade to a Padres team that collectively batted .238/.308/.410 — good for just an 88 wRC+ that ranked 24th among Major League clubs. But with Manny Machado entrenched at third base and Fernando Tatis Jr. slotted in at shortstop — Machado’s other position — fitting Bryant into the mix would be a bit tougher.
Bryant does have experience in the outfield corners, but the Padres aren’t really short on options there, either (Tommy Pham, Wil Myers, Trent Grisham, Franchy Cordero). Bryant would clearly be the best hitter of the bunch, but San Diego acquired both Pham and Grisham this winter, and Myers’ contract ensures that he’ll be a part of the mix in some capacity. Acee does note that while the Padres were willing to consider moving Tatis to center field in the event of a Francisco Lindor acquisition, that scenario wasn’t a consideration when contemplating a Bryant swap.
At this point, the chances of any deal involving Bryant look to be minimal. The former Rookie of the Year and MVP has already had a sit-down with Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein — a meeting from which he came away with the impression that he’ll be remaining in Chicago. Their asking price could be informative in the event that Bryant once again hits the market, however, and it also speaks to the manner in which the Friars value both Lamet and Campusano.
Tatis: “Nothing Happening Out There Yet” On Contract Extension
An extension with star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. was reportedly one of the Padres’ offseason goals, though it doesn’t appear as if much progress has been made on that front. In a radio interview on the Ben & Woods morning show (Twitter link), Tatis said he and his representatives at the MVP Sports Group would “talk about it if the Padres come with something, but there’s nothing happening out there yet.”
While Padres general manager A.J. Preller was “definitely not looking to comment publicly” on the status of negotiations during his own Ben & Woods interview (Twitter link), Preller indicated that the club did want to “explore every option and possibility” in terms of a potential long-term agreement with Tatis. “We’ll sit down with him and his representatives when the time is right here, and kind of get a feel for where they’re at and see if there’s something there,” Preller said.
The fact that talks have seemingly yet to truly begin isn’t necessarily a sign that an extension couldn’t still happen before Opening Day or shortly into the season, as many teams don’t turn their attention to extension talks whatsoever until Spring Training. Of course, there also isn’t any immediate urgency to get a deal done since Tatis is under team control through the 2024 season — the shortstop has two remaining years as a pre-arbitration player, and then three seasons of arbitration eligibility.
Gaining some additional control (not to mention cost certainty) over Tatis would certainly be of interest to the Padres, as Tatis has one of the brightest futures of any player in the sport. The 21-year-old is coming off a rookie season that saw him hit .317/.379/.590 with 22 home runs over 372 plate appearances. This was despite a pair of injured list stints due to a hamstring strain, and then a back strain that ended Tatis’ season in mid-August.
Should Tatis continue to perform at this high level over the next five years, he would be on track for free agency heading into his age-26 season and be in line for a monster payday on the open market, more than likely over the $400MM threshold. San Diego knows a thing or two about spending big on a 26-year-old free agent, having just dropped $300MM on Manny Machado (another MVP Sports Group client, of note) last winter. Locking up even one or two of Tatis’ free agent years as part of a long-term deal could end up being quite a bargain for the Padres, and by that same token, Tatis could be open to an extension that gives him financial security now, yet also doesn’t prevent him from free agency before his 30th birthday.
Some larger factors could also be at play, as The Athletic’s Dennis Lin (subscription required) raised the possibility that Tatis and other younger players might hold off on extensions “with the idea that the next collective bargaining agreement will change the structures of club control and free agency.” The current CBA expires in December 2021, so assuming a new labor agreement is in place prior to the start of the 2022 season, Tatis would still have three years remaining as a Padre and potentially a new range of contractual options to consider from a negotiating perspective. Perhaps as a nod to how a new CBA would impact the status quo, ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan reported yesterday that multiple teams were looking to lock up pre-arbitration players to extensions in the next few weeks.
Red Sox, Padres Unlikely To Line Up On Myers Swap
The Red Sox have been linked to various permutations of trades involving Padres outfielder Wil Myers this offseason — including as recently as last week. However, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe now reports that the two sides are “unlikely” to line up on an agreement. The Red Sox’ interest in working out a trade was largely a means of attempting to purchase some minor league and/or controllable MLB talent by absorbing part of the remaining three years and $61MM on Myers’ contract.
It’s not a surprise to see the Red Sox seeking creative ways to bolster their farm and their stock of MLB-ready rotation options. Boston’s farm landed 22nd of 30 in Baseball America’s February ranking of the game’s best minor league systems, and the back of their rotation looks perilously thin. Beyond Chris Sale, Eduardo Rodriguez and Nathan Eovaldi, the Red Sox will likely rely on reclamation project Martin Perez and an unproven internal option (or options).
Among the candidates vying for the fifth starter’s job are Hector Velazquez, Matt Hall, Chris Mazza, Mike Shawaryn, Ryan Weber and Kyle Hart. A clear winner might not be declared, as the Sox could shuffle a number of names through that spot or even deploy an opener every fifth day. And, of course, Sale and Eovaldi were far from 100 percent healthy in 2019. The added depth such a move would bring about would be particularly valuable in Boston.
As for the Padres, while it’s logical that they’d want to get out from some of the remaining Myers money, Speier indicates that the club isn’t interested in depleting its depth just to save money at this time. Shipping a Cal Quantrill or Joey Lucchesi to Boston thins out their starting depth, and there’s no real means of improving the roster quality right now outside of an additional trade. Bringing a third club into the mix — as has been previously rumored — would give the Padres more options but obviously comes with additional layers of complexity. With Opening Day just one month away, the time to put together a deal of that magnitude is waning. (Not that Opening Day is a deadline, per se, but notable trades early in the regular season are a rarity.)
Even if Myers remains in San Diego to begin the season, rumors centering around the former Rookie of the Year will surely persist into the summer. The Padres’ outfield will consist of Tommy Pham, Trent Grisham and Franchy Cordero. Myers, Josh Naylor and non-roster invitee Juan Lagares are on hand as additional options, and the club also has yet-to-debut outfielders Edward Olivares and Jorge Ona on the 40-man roster — though neither has played above Double-A. The outfield has been something of a revolving door in San Diego over the past couple of seasons, but the team’s depth remains strong, and Myers is very arguably superfluous — particularly given his significant salary.
With the Friars set to open the year at a club-record $153MM payroll, it stands to reason that a successful jettison of even part of Myers’ salary would give general manager A.J. Preller additional room to improve the club this summer and to make further additions next offseason. As evidenced by the apparently unproductive talks with the Red Sox and the lack of success in prior efforts to deal Myers, however, bringing that idea into actuality is a rather challenging task.
Camp Battles: Padres’ Second Base Options
Minor league signings aren’t often that compelling, but the Padres did make an intriguing pickup on a non-guaranteed deal this past weekend. The club added to a crowded picture at second base by inking former star Brian Dozier to a low-risk pact. It was somewhat of a surprise outcome in free agency for Dozier, as even though he’s not the huge-hitting, base-stealing standout he was in his Twins heyday, he was still fairly productive in 2019.
As a member of last year’s World Series-winning Nationals, Dozier batted .238/.340/.430 with 20 home runs in 482 plate appearances. Those numbers essentially made the 32-year-old Dozier a league-average hitter (99 wRC+) and overall producer (1.7 fWAR). So, from the Padres’ perspective, there’s little to no harm in giving Dozier a shot on a deal that’ll only amount to $2.2MM if he makes their roster.
Second base was something of a sore spot in 2019 for San Diego, which received almost nothing from the now-retired Ian Kinsler and saw once-touted prospect Luis Urias struggle. Consequently, the Padres have reshuffled at the position since last season ended.
Well before the Dozier signing, the Padres traded Urias to the Brewers in a swap that sent outfielder Trent Grisham and righty Zach Davies to San Diego. A few days after that, the Padres replaced Urias in a different trade, acquiring Jurickson Profar from the Athletics for young catcher Austin Allen. Profar’s due to earn $5.7MM this season in his last year of arbitration control, but that’s not a guaranteed sum until the season begins. It’s unlikely to happen, but the Padres will be able to move on from Profar this spring if he flounders in their second base competition. Notably, the switch-hitting Profar, 27, hasn’t performed all that well since he debuted with the Rangers as an elite prospect in 2012. His difficulties continued last season in his lone year in Oakland, as he hit .218/.301/.410 with 20 homers and 1.3 fWAR in 518 PA.
Dozier was more productive than Profar in 2019, and so was fellow Padre Greg Garcia. He batted .248/.364/.354 en route to 1.4 fWAR over 372 trips to the plate. However, the lefty-hitting 30-year-old wasn’t an option against same-handed pitchers. Conversely, Profar owned lefties while faring poorly versus righties. As Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union Tribune notes, the plan had been for Profar and Garcia to platoon at second. That could still end up happening, but the addition of the right-handed Dozier – who has historically smacked lefties around – could throw a wrench into a Profar-Garcia tandem. Garcia doesn’t have a minor league option remaining, though, meaning he could wind up with another organization if he doesn’t make the Padres’ season-opening roster.
Dozier, Profar and Garcia are the main combatants in San Diego’s second base competition, though the team does have a few other possibilities in the mix. The versatile Ty France totaled 17 major league appearances at the keystone last season. His production wasn’t great in the bigs, whereas he utterly pulverized Triple-A pitching, hitting a video game-like .399/.477/.770 with 27 home runs (196 wRC+) in 348 plate appearances. He’s on the Padres’ 40-man roster, as is Breyvic Valera, whom they claimed on waivers a couple weeks ago. Valera has put up nice numbers in the minors, but the 28-year-old switch hitter has fallen flat in multiple MLB stops. Unlike France, Valera’s out of options, so he could head back to the waiver wire if he doesn’t hold his own in camp.
That group aside, the Padres also have other second base-capable players around (Gordon Beckham, Esteban Quiroz, Ivan Castillo and Hudson Potts, to name a few), but they’re all in camp as non-roster invitees. Odds are that they’re not realistically going to push for the second base job. On the other hand, even though Dozier’s a fellow NRI, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the accomplished veteran open the year in San Diego. In the meantime, the club’s in for an interesting keystone competition over the next month.