Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
5.Yonder Alonso, 1B, San Diego Padres
Making $1.65M in 2015, enters second year of arbitration in 2016
One might wonder why the Padres would have any interest in moving Alonso, one of their few cost-controlled starting-caliber players. Well, it’s pretty clear thatWil Myersis not the club’s center fielder of the future, having cost the Padres nine runs in center through 259.2 innings this season according to FanGraphs. The Padres have Myers in the fold for four more seasons andMatt Kempunder contract until 2019, so if they want to re-signJustin Upton—who they gave up top prospectMax Friedand current Braves starting second basemanJace Petersonto acquire this past offseason—they’ll probably have to move Myers to first base long-term.
So why is Alonso an attractive option for the Cardinals? He hits well for average, has developed into an extremely disciplined hitter, and has decent power that would likely be amplified if he no longer had to spend 81 games a season in Petco Park. He’s a solid defensive first baseman who is not exceptionally rangy but is not error-prone, and like current Cardinals first basemanMark Reynolds, he has shown the ability to play third base in a pinch, having started two games there this year for San Diego.
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The one disadvantage in going after Alonso, as opposed to older options likeAdam LaRocheorAdam Lind, is that he’s got two years of arbitration left, which means that guys like Adams andStephen Piscottycould become useless. With that said, Adams’ injury comes with a level of long-term concern, and there’s reason to be skeptical that he’s even a capable big-league starter going forward, as he had just a .656 OPS through 153 plate appearances this year and is hitting .198 against lefthanders during the course of his four-year career. Piscotty, meanwhile, could take over for Reynolds after this season as a righthanded hitter off the bench. Despite his status as a top prospect, the 24-year-old still has yet to conquer Triple-A pitching through two seasons and 817 at-bats at the minors’ highest level, so it’s unlikely that he’ll be an impactful big-league starter long-term.
Alonso’s extra years of club control, along with the Padres’ desperate need to rebuild their farm system, may mean that it will take at least a decent package of prospects to acquire him. With their aging rotation and lack of big-league ready starting pitching prospects, the Cards can’t afford to part with premium young pitching prospects like Alex Reyes orRob Kaminsky. If the Cardinals can acquire Alonso for a few mid-level guys, for exampleCharlie Tilson,Ronnie Williams,Andrew Morales, and/orPatrick Wisdom, they should at least consider it.
Next: 4. Junichi Tazawa
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