Who’s On First?

After the trade of All-Star 1B Adrian Gonzales, the Padres are in need of a starting 1B for the season opener. There are a few candidates in free agency that can lock down the position until players like Kyle Blanks and Anthony Rizzo are ready to contribute to the big league squad.

The Padres would like to have a good defensive 1B and someone to put in the middle of their lineup. The Padres lineup is full of right handed hitters and they may look to add a left handed bat in the lineup here also. The only lefties in the lineup are Will Venable and Chase Headley.

Here are some of the candidates for the Padres to look at for the first base position:

Lyle Overbay
Overbay is a left handed bat that has spent the last few years with the Toronto Blue Jays and has also spent some time in the NL with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Milwaukee Brewers. He is a very good defensive first basemen and has a solid bat. He is more of a doubles hitter and will occasionally run into the ling ball. He offers 15-20 homerun power and would bring in a veteran leadership to the team. There are a lot of rumors that are pointing to Overbay as the top candidate for the position.

Xavier Nady
Nady was originally drafted by the Padres and was traded to the New York Mets for Mike Cameron. Nady is a right handed bat that would offer about 20 homeruns a season. He can be used in the field at first base or any corner outfield positions. He is coming off a down year with the Cubs and the Arizona Diamondbacks have shown a lot of interest in him.

Derrek Lee
Lee originally started with the Padres as well and was used as part of the trade for P Kevin Brown. He is an aging all-star talent that is a gold glove first baseman. He would immediately be put in the middle of the lineup and I think that the fans would love to see him back in a Padres uniform. He can offer 25-30 homeruns and a legitimate threat in the middle of the lineup. Earlier in his career he was able to steal a few bases as well.

Adam LaRoche
Here is another lefty bat that should be able to hit about 25 homeruns, but he will strike out a lot. He is good defensively and is used to the pitching in the NL West with his latest season as the Arizona Diamondback first baseman.

Troy Glaus
Glaus is a local product that came out of Carlsbad High School. Last season was his first full time position as a first baseman and he did very good defensively. He is another aging all-star with a right handed bat that could hit about 20-25 homeruns for the Padres. His career batting average is at .254.

Jorge Cantu
Cantu is another right handed bat that could give the Padres about 20 homeruns. He plays both 1B and 3B and offers a good batting average.

Here is how I rank these players for the Padres:
1. Derrek Lee
2. Adam LaRoche
3. Lyle Overbay
4. Troy Glaus
5. Jorge Cantu
6. Xavier Nady

Who would you like to see on first?

Make sure to follow Chicken Friars on Facebook