My Big. Fat. Thoughts on Why The Padres Shouldn't Sign Eric Hosmer

I'll be the first one to tell you, I never wanted the Padres to sign Eric Hosmer. It sounds intriguing to finally sign a big name free agent because, let's face it, we aren't known for attracting the big dogs. This is the greatest city on the planet. If the organization isn't able to sell the city to free agents, then I don't even know what we're doing here. All that aside, Eric Hosmer is not worth the 7 yr/ $140 Million price tag the Padres allegedly offered. He is wildly inconsistent. In seven years in the MLB, Hosmer has a WAR of 14.1. He has three Gold Gloves. So what? Wil Myers looks as lost at first base as I do on a treadmill. By no means does that make me want to waste $20 Million on Hosmer. James Shields' and Hector Olivera's money finally comes off the books after the 2018 season. That is an extra $17.5 Million the organization may be dedicating toward the 2018-2019 offseason. It's no secret that this upcoming free agent class is YUUUUGGGGGEEEE!!!!!!! Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Josh Donaldson, and Charlie Blackmon are better than every single free agent position player in this class. Scott Boras is an animal. We all know this. This is no surprise. He is "doing his job" as an agent, but this guy is obnoxious. What makes this even worse is that Scott Boras controls pretty much every big name free agent left in this year's class. J.D. Martinez is solid, but he's not worth anything near $200 Million. Fuck that. Eric Hosmer may be worth a 5 yr/$100 Million. That is the scenario where Hosmer is worth $20 Million, by keeping the years down. He has an overall war of 14.1 while having massive ups and downs during his seven years in the bigs. I hope Hosmer has success and a great time wherever he is, but Hosmer is a clown that should never "slide down Imperial" as Mitchy Slick famously said.

I will say that the Padres should go through one more year of dumpster diving for talent. Next year's free agent class is fucking too legit to quit. This is common knowledge. More importantly, the free agent relievers are fucking unreal next year. Craig Kimbrel, Andrew Miller, Zach Britton, Cody Allen, Kelvin Herrera, Sean Doolittle, and another five or six top of the line relievers. With Brad Hand under control for another 3 years, I would expect Preller to go after a dominant RHP. I would expect San Diego to have a shot at a guy like Cody Allen or Kelvin Herrera. I wouldn't expect them to get Kimbrel back in America's Finest City, but the other two dudes would be awesome. Another hole the Padres would want to fill with a free agent instead of homegrown talent would be 3B. I don't see us pulling Machado. I don't see us getting Donaldson either. Those are just too much for us to get. Not happening. If we are able to get a Cody Allen or Kelvin Herrera, then I would go for Donaldson, but I would not expect to pull that off. I would also love to get Adam Jones if he is willing to play LF. He'd be coming home as he is a Morse High School product, but he would be the guy to come in and just be able to truly lead the team. He'd also be relatively cost efficient for a dude that still has some good years left. So, do not touch Hosmer. We'd be wasting good time and money. If I had a dream, I don't because I'm no MLK, but if I did have a dream, then the Padres would get Kimbrel, Machado, and A.J. Pollack. I try to be more realistic. Cody Allen or Kelvin Herrera, Adam Jones, and make a run at Donaldson, not expecting to get him. The backup to Donaldson would be either go get a dude in a trade, resign Headley (Oh God Please No), or potentially swing Adrian Beltre away from what appears to be his final team in Texas. Beltre should stay in Texas until he's done. Other than finding a real solution at 3B, the Padres look to be in a solid slot for 2019 and 2020.