Padres interested in All-Star Blue Jays free agent Gold Glove infielder originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The San Diego Padres are in the market for help in the rotation and the offense this offseason. With the future of Jake Cronenworth and Ramon Laureano, along with Nick Pivetta, uncertain, help at those spots could be coming this offseason.
Recently, the Padres and Miguel Andujar agreed to a $4 million contract. While he’s a nice addition, the Padres are still showing interest in lineup upgrades.
According to Chris Cotillo of Masslive.com, the Padres are one of three teams interested in signing former Toronto Blue Jays Gold Glove first baseman, All-Star veteran Ty France.
Padres interested in Gold Glove 1B formerly with Blue Jays, Mariners
“San Diego added Andujar but has been in the mix for France, too,” Cotillo reports. “Two others in on France: Cleveland and Colorado.”
France is drawing interest from a few teams this offseason, and fortunately for the Padres, the Colorado Rockies and the Cleveland Guardians are not major threats to sign France away this offseason.
If the Padres are willing to meet his contract demands, they should be able to land France this offseason. The 31-year-old free agent won’t cost much and is a good target for the Padres.
More: Former Yankees, Reds, A’s outfielder agrees to $4M deal with Padres
He’s coming off a Gold Glove season with the Minnesota Twins and the Blue Jays. Despite great defense at first base, France had just 1.0 bWAR on the year. His .681 OPS and 88 OPS+ were below average, as he wasn’t the best batter last year.
While his career OPS+ is 108, and his career OPS is a solid .735, it’s been some time since he’s been a great hitter in the Major Leagues. But, France would still be worth signing for the Padres.
Adding France would make for a logjam at first base. The Padres would need to figure out how to clear that up, and a Cronenworth trade would be one of the easiest ways to do so.
The Padres are interested in France, according to this report, and he’s someone worth keeping a close eye on this offseason for the Padres as Spring Training approaches.
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