The 5 Best Remaining Free Agents For The Padres

Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

#4. Kendrys Morales, First Base

Let’s face it, Yonder Alonso is not the answer at the dish for the Friars. Nobody is going to come in and be Adrian Gonzalez, but a full season of Morales could prove beneficial. After he held out during spring training, waiting for a long-term, heavily loaded contract, he signed with the Minnesota Twins, played just under 40 games, hit for very little power, and was dealt BACK to the Seattle Mariners, the team who wouldn’t give him his desired deal to begin with.

To put it bluntly, Morales stunk up the joint. As with most players who miss spring training, it’s difficult to use the regular season to knock the rust off without struggling for extended periods of time. This presents a golden opportunity for the Padres, as they missed out on free agent first baseman Adam LaRoche, and still need a productive bat to displace Alonso. Prior to last season, Morales had back-to-back seasons of over 20 home runs and at least 73 runs batted in, while batting .273 or higher, and slugging .449 or higher. Now that is production the Padres have sorely lacked.

The 31-year-old first baseman has proven he can hit in a pitcher’s park, as Safeco Field presents many of the same obstacles as Petco Park does. He made just over $7 million last year, and coming into 2015, Morales wants to get paid, and prove that he is still a middle-of-the-order bat. A three-year, $25.5 million dollar deal locks in a productive bat, once again cheaper than Pablo Sandoval or Yasmany Tomas ever could’ve come to town for.