It has been well-documented that the San Diego Padres have had a successful off-season so far, with the four players they received in the Mat Latos deal, plus finding a short term replacement for closer Heath Bell with Houston Street.
However, since they acquired first baseman Yonder Alonso from the Cincinnati Reds, it’s created a logjam at first base, and led people from around the league to believe that Anthony Rizzo will almost certainly be traded before Spring Training, if not much sooner.
For a number of reasons, I do not think this is a smart move by the Padres organization.
First off, it was just about a year ago at this time that Rizzo was acquired from the Red Sox, and scouts were amazed by his raw power. He was considered almost a sure thing to produce at the Major League level. And while he will eventually, in my opinion, be a very good hitter, he has struggled thus far. How do we know Yonder Alonso is the real deal? Even though all signs point to positive, we don’t really know for sure.
Is there truly even a market for Rizzo? Both the Cubs and Rays are teams that have been thrown around as having some interest. But to me, it feels like the Padres are just settling for a deal. Rizzo was the key component in the Adrian Gonzalez deal. Shouldn’t the Padres be asking for the moon for him? I don’t get the sense they are right now.
Lastly, Alonso has apparently lost 20 pounds this off-season, in what was an anticipation to play left field for the Reds. And while he is obviously more suited to play first base, he probably could play left field if he had to. Let’s be honest, it couldn’t be much worse than what Ryan Ludwick gave defensively.
My point is that the Padres should wait to trade Rizzo. I don’t see what the rush is. Rizzo clearly still has some work to do to adjust to major league pitching, so it’s likely he will begin the year at AAA Tucson anyway. And by waiting, we can see if Alonso is capable of manning left field. If he can, there is no need to even trade Rizzo. If he can’t, then the Padres can look to move him. Assuming the Cubs miss out on signing Prince Fielder, there will be just as much of a market for Rizzo in April or May as there is right now.
Unfortunately, this is probably a moot point, because there have been reports that Rizzo will likely be traded within the next week or two. I hope that this doesn’t come back to bite the Padres down the road.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com