Padres Coming to Their Senses Regarding Center Field

Throughout the off-season the Padres kept talking about how much better Melvin Upton Jr.was last year than the previous two dreadful seasons in Atlanta. After the move of Wil Myers to first base and Justin Upton left in free agency, the Padres went an outfielder surplus to an outfielder shortage. Jon Jay has been getting the majority of playing time in center field and it appears he will do once the season begins as well.

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Jon Jay has led off for six straight Spring starts and it appears he will be the Padres Opening Day centerfielder according to AJ Cassavell. When asked if Manager Andy Green had made a concrete decision regarding his lineup and Jay he responded “I think you can read the tea leaves.”

While Upton is certainly a possibility to start in left field given his contract and the Padres simple of other options, I believe the Padres are certainly doing the right thing in batting Jay lead off and starting him in center field. While Upton Jr did play 63 games for the Padres last season, the Padres think his skill set is better suited for left and would almost certainly be better than his brother’s defensive metrics in left field.

One knock on Jay is that especially last year he has struggled against left handed pitching, but the Padres and Green have been happy with what they have seen so far in the spring:

"“He’s been an on-base guy for the majority of his career, he’s been a guy with very neutral splits. Some years he’s hit lefties better than he’s hit righties, so he’s a guy where you don’t have to worry about who’s on the mound. We’re searching for that guy who can be a catalyst at the top, and his at-bats have gotten better and better as spring progressed.”"

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Quite a ringing endorsement from Andy Green. With Jay, the Padres have someone who brings that Cardinals culture of winning and getting the job done, rather than just someone like Upton who is trying to prove he still even belongs in the Major Leagues. The Braves and Padres have long given up hope of him justifying his contract.

For a team like the Padres, it makes more sense to put in the Travis Jankowski and Jabari Blash‘s of the world. Players who are young and could really value from major league experience. Not a veteran in the second to last year of a (bad) free agent contract like Upton Jr. Jay is on a $6M contract compared to Upton’s who is getting paid $16M this year and $17M next year.