Eric Hosmer Wants Eight-Year Deal
On Monday afternoon, I received the honor of talking to USA Today and MLB Network Insider Bob Nightengale. We had an in-depth conversation about the San Diego Padres and Eric Hosmer, the hot topic around town.
The thing that stuck out to me in our conversation was when I asked Mr. Nightengale about any new Eric Hosmer information. He said that the first baseman is “looking for an eight-year deal, and if the Padres would offer him that, he would take it in a heartbeat.” Padre’ fans have become divided amid the Eric Hosmer’ free agent talk. The choice for him seems to be between San Diego, Kansas City, and St. Louis.
One side of the argument is saying that Hosmer is not a great fit because the Padres already have Wil Myers under contract over $80 million and he is the first baseman. There is also the argument that Hosmer is not going to age well and would be under contract into his mid 30’s.
The other argument is that Hosmer would be perfect because he is currently in his prime. Myers has played the outfield previously in Tampa Bay and San Diego, and the Padres are on the cusp of being a contender in the National League West or Wild Card, and need viable players currently.
Now, you could be reading this thinking that there are some fans that are in the middle of the whole debate. You are right. There is no easy answer.
You can say Hosmer is a great player, but I’m not sure about the total years or the amount of money San Diego is offering him. Ron Fowler indicated recently that the team will not go past seven years in their offer. He also stated that the team has made a strong push and the rest is up to Scott Boras and Hosmer himself.
If Hosmer wants eight years, then the Padres may have to give him that in order to sign him. If they want to make that next step, that all Padres fans are hoping for, the financial commitment might be necessary.
Let’s face the fact that this is the San Diego Padres that we are dealing with here. This is a team that has not been to the postseason in over 10 years. Now I know some are hoping next year’s free agent calls will produce a few signings, but do you really think that the Padres are going to land a big name player? Bryce Harper and Manny Machado will be way too costly for a smaller market team.
Right now might be their only chance to land a big free agent player.
2017 was, no doubt, a career year for Hosmer as he slashed .318/.385/.498 while playing in all of his team’s 162 games. Hosmer isn’t just an MLB All-Star, but he played in every single regular season game for the Kansas City Royals last season. He is a very reliable player that will be on the field every day. Teams can feel that they are getting there money’s worth in that regard. It may be a big contract, but in those seven or eight years, you will have a productive first baseman.
All San Diegans may not agree on whether or not they should sign Hosmer, but Padre’ fans all want to this organization to make that next step to being a contender, and right now, free agent first basemen Eric Hosmer would certainly put the Padres on the right path to reach that goal. Eight years is a huge commitment though. The clock is ticking. An answer must come in the coming weeks. The Padres have apparently drawn a line in the sand. Or have they?
I am a die-hard Padres fan and season ticket holder. I am obsessed with baseball and have been a Padre fan my whole life. I want to become a baseball writer when I grow up. Go Padres!
I’m a long-time Kansas City season ticket holder. I’ve seen Hosmer from day one in the bigs. He’s not a superstar. Take a look at his stats … he’s an every other year kind of hitter … one year removed from hitting .266/.328/.433/.761.
We had a rookie 2Bman hit .288/.324/.460/.784 with 19 HRs playing for the league minimum. Does KC need Hosmer for 7 years @ 20 mil per year? Nope. We’ve got one of those guys already … Alex Gordon.
It’s your turn to make a dumb decision. Good luck with that, LOL.
Thank you for the good luck
If he takes 7 @ 140 fine. Otherwise we should tank another season and go into 2019 with that group of pitchers(Baez, Quantril, Lauer) at near MLB ready as well as Tatis and Ona.
In defense of Ben, everyone keeps saying he needs to be more objective. He is not a reporter; he is a columnist. He is (I would hope) being paid to write his OPINION, to stimulate discussion (and he has been successful on this one). Remember, there is a difference between a reporter and a columnist. Ben, I thought you did a great job on this piece. Keep fighting the fight!
Agreed with Freddy and Tommy, Ben,-you wrote for some good talking points but you’re getting lost in your emotional attachment to the ideas. In the future as a writer, don’t get involved on that level (DON’T!!!! 😉 It kills your objectivity and argumentation, aka your power as a writer). I disagree with your stance but appreciate your angle in your article. That means I wouldn’t read your next one 😉
you’re improving, but check out what larger scale audienced writers are doing with the threads, it’s very minimal, mainly just fact-checking and exposition.
Ok thank you. Thank so for reading. I hope you read my next one. ?
First off I want to thank Ben for participating on this discussion on his point of view on this article. I would like to see more of this on the EVT site as I feel it is the best Free Site to talk Padre Baseball that exists.
Funny Gyrko is mentioned since we still are paying part of his salary here and he plays for the Cards.
I like Hosmer to a point and think he could make adjustments to his approach at the plate for Petco that would make him a superstar. First Base is a position that a players value is nearly 100% based in hitting. That is why I don’t like Meyers there it eliminates part of his value. First Base is one of the positions where you can get a LH bat in your lineup. The Padres have a void when it comers to LH bats. Hosmer is a high average type hitter, IMO very similar to what we had here with AGON for a number of years. This team does not hit well, .270 is not hitting well and we have a number of players who hit less than that on average.
I put the MAX dollars of this contract for the Padres at $144 MIL, if he wants to stretch it over 8 years fine. That is an average of $18 MIL per year, but I think something we have never tried is to front load a deal like this so you can still have a trade-able player later in the contract when his production is slightly reduced, instead of an albatross contract that hurts your team. Give him $80 – $84 MIL over the first 4 years of the deal, with the balance spread over the last 4 years. Add some incentives maybe that are not guaranteed to the later years of the contract to give extra motivation.
That is the final line, for me. If he wants to just play for the money, then do it somewhere else. If he does what his agent says he can do for a team, he will be up around Tony Gwynn status in this town, the face that brought this team their first WS Title.
I appreciate you spending time writing to me. Well mentioning tony qwynn with hosmer is no right but I get your point.
I’m sure Franchy Cordero is a good person, blah, blah, blah…but Franchy Cordero has never been to the post season. Hosmer and Myers, have.
Padre fans were not prepared for a faster progress curve with this team..that is very clear to me. Preller is very bright. And he knows that the fans are cynical and short sided and leary.
But more than that, he knows that there will never be a better time to acquire a player like Hosmer, for what will be a steal, once everyone sees what Machado will get next offseason.
Preller now has this team lined up, to make room for veterans who can lead the young bucks to a post season run. You CANNOT keep acquiring prospects, with no agenda, besides just acquiring them, to hoard them…that’s stupid. A lot of these prospects we’ve seen on the rise, will never see the light of day with the big league team in SD, because they’ll be traded first.
Every playoff hopeful team, will acquire a number of vets to help consolidate a core. Adding Cordero (who may very well make the 40 man) and 6 other unproven young guys, is fine on paper. But it’s not a winning combination, necessarily, for a playoff hopeful team.
Thank you for agreeing.
You have to consider anything Nightengale says has an agenda attached to it. The mere fact that STL is considered a contender say that going to 8 isn’t a guarantee of anything. It feels like the Padres are being used and the agent that is known for doing everything to get his player the most is using every means necessary.
This is a hard pass if it requires anymore than what is already offered. Let me guess, Nightengale confirmed 140 when other sources can confirm the years offered but not the amount. Refer back to my first sentence. I keep getting stuck on you arguement against sticking with the internal options. How do you know they won’t hit? AJs track record with the draft, trades, Intl signings have been better than his FA signing track record. Stay the course and let’s see what it yields. At least initially. 2015 should be a learning experience and I hope Dave Cameron reinforces that lesson so history doesn’t repeat itself.
We have net made playoffs in over ten years. We have been going the prospect route every year except for when we brought in all of the free agents who had no chemistry. Hosmer and Myers would get a long very well. They have the same personality. It would work. And prospects are prospects until they show how they can play in the big leagues.
I like Hosmer a lot. Eight years, not so much. Here’s the thing: Where does Myers go? Left? Pirela was the Padres’ best hitter last year, and Franchy Cordero is knocking at the door. Back to right? He wasn’t very good there, and Renfro is supposed to be the future there. Trade him? We just signed him as the face of the franchise.
I would rather have Myers in left with an all star at first. Pirela had one good year. We’ll see how he does this year
Goldschmidt, Votto, Rizzo and probably Freeman and Bellinger are all more likely all stars than Hosmer unless Hosmer gets in by default because there is no other Padre close. I think Myers has more upside also.
Yes, you are naming the top first basemen in the league. Hosmer is probably right after them.
Yes, you are naming the top first basemen in the league. Hosmer is probably right after them. So, hosmer is still elite.
And to answer your question further, Andy would use pirela in late innings. Pirela isn’t the best fielding LF.
Don’t sign Hosmer, because moving Myers to LF the blocks Franchy Cordero. I’d rather have the combo of Myers at First and Cordero in Left AND save the $140M.
I get the money part, but you would rather have someone who we don’t know what he is gonna turn out to be than an all star? No you wouldn’t.
Correct. It’s not that I don’t like Hosmer…but not at 7 years…probabilty says the last three years would be a horrendous contract. If it were 4 years at $80M, then yeah. A small market club like the Pads cannot pay someone $20M to be bad. 7 years is too risky for any player.
Yes that is a good point that not all all stars are all stars currently, but in my opinion Hosmer is still currently an allstar. He played EVERY GAME last season.
This is a great thread and post- Greg Wehrman, for me you hit the nail on the head: The Pads cannot afford to pay for 7 years. This is one of those deals that has no room for error. Just assuming 1/4 of these “prospects” work out, where will the money come from to retain them as well as pony up for SP when it does matter? If we’re into Hosmer for 20 mill annually and it’s 2020 or 2021 and we’re heading towards good things, I see a big problem. And that’s where we really need to start looking if we’re going to continue to “drink the koolaid” of Preller’s “genius”.
Further, “if” this farm system is as good as it’s supposed to be, and “if” AJ is as good as he’s supposed to be in international signings, does the Hosmer deal really make any sense? -No.
Consider specifically that you make the outfield worse immediately and the face of the franchise is at 1B. Hosmer is in that sense, a panic move, not a well-placed strategy. No, at this point Wil is not “the man”, and he may not be. Why get in deeper at that position? I don’t see it.
Although I’m no one, I’d go the route of the 1984 team if there is indeed any rush at all to start “getting there” (and no, Hosmer does not get us anywhere, make no mistake). So, next year, grab a vet or two that is coming out of their prime and gain leadership that way- we allegedly have the talent coming… Hosmer on his own does not improve this club dramatically. There is still a lack of starting pitching, overall OBP and WAR. One player is not going to change that, especially in the NL West.
Ben…you say several times in these post to get Hosmer because he’s an All-star. By that standard, so is Myers. Just saying…
Hosmer is an all star right now, I believe. Not all stars are allstar type players right now but he is.
No, he’s not. Hosmer was an all star in 2016. That’s the same year Wil Myers was an all star.
I disagree, Ben. Next year is not (and should not with this team) be a playoff year, so spending $20 million on Hosmer is a waste, in my opinion. 2019 makes Hosmer a year older and more likely to start to decline, right at the time we are hoping to contend. Having Cordero or Dickerson (if healthy) compete and hopefully develop in a less-pressure-filled year seems more sensible, and gives Myers the same opportunity to regain his form. Shifting Myers to RF seems to be a vote of no-confidence in Myers and I don’t think that is beneficial to anyone. I support letting all of the depth we have at the major/minor league levels compete and improve for a year, and in 2019, our team hopefully looks even more attractive to free agents as we will be on the verge or even better, and free agents want to play on winners.
If the report is accurate that the Red Sox only offered JD Martinez 5 years at $100 million, then the Padres 7 year offer is way too much. If Martinez signs for roughly 100 mil, then it will be fascinating to see how Hosmer and the Royals and Padres respond. Would the Padres admit their excessive offer ? Would they take it back?
Padres are not admitting to an excessive offer and not they are not going to raise their offer.
They admitted to SEVEN years, how many 7 year contracts are there? 80 mil is excessive, but what if it is for 100? 120, 140?
It is for 140, and for an all star who by the way win asg MVP in SD.
So they ARE admitting to an excessive offer
You got it Freddy. The Sox were savvy enough to see the market for what it was. The Pads should pull their offer (the Royals would be smart to follow). JD was valued higher…oops.
I’m not much in favor of signing him, even for seven years. That said, 8×144 would be in the neighborhood of OK, so long as it isn’t too back loaded. Hopefully we’re going to be looking at extending the prospects that actually make it to the bigs and succeed. I would hate to see the 60m we still owe on the Hosmer contract prevent us from being able to do that. It does seem that our system isn’t as well stocked in power as it is everywhere else. Signing Hosmer will offset that to some extent for the next 3-4 years, preventing us from having to trade LHP prospects for corner power when we do expect to be in the thick of things.
That is a good point but I’d rather have an Eric hosmer than some prospects we don’t know what they are gonna do in MLB
Agreed Mark. For me, this whole idea makes little sense for the money involved. If Hosmer is going for 100 mill, sure, all day long. But you don’t pay 140 for intangibles, unless you’re the Yankees- of course then there’s Jacoby Ellsbury….. This deal doesn’t work on Padres planet, not even close. But AJ, for all his great skills has shown zero intelligence on contracts. Look at Shields, what he offered the giant Panda, and what he paid Wil. He’s still spending mid-market money…
I agree Paul, we need a Contracts and Money Management guy in the mix.
That is the difference in being able to sustain this team as a contender for a decade.
True, but Shields got us Tatis. And, I competely agree that the Sandoval offer reeked of desperation and was a wildly bad idea. Myers still has a chance to make this deal a good one, if he can regain his form from 2017. Remember, one good year and one less-good year so far. That’s not exactly a pattern reflecting a terrible choice. Give it another chance.
“Eric Hosmer would certainly put the Padres in the right path to reach that goal.” Actually, that is where the deep concern and sharp disagreements come in. Many believe that, while he is a fine player, acquiring him would block “the right path,” or, at a minimum, would greatly hinder reaching “that goal.” ………. 8 years! There are reasons why only 2 teams (perhaps only 1) has offered a max of 7 years. I hope the Padres don’t cave to Boras.
You just said that he was a FINE player so that definitely puts the club in the right direction.
Scooter Gennet is a fine player, Jedd Gyorko is a fine player, Logan Morrison is a fine player, so, by your logic, we should sign these guys for 7 or 8 years at 140 per? “Yeah, but ….they are good players, that would put the club in the right direction.”
No Look at the stats. Hosmer is better than Gyrko and LoMo
You’re missing the point, and you keep moving the goalposts. You need to be more objective.