Padres News: Team Looking For Jedd Gyorko To Return To Form

By John Hiatt |

So as much as the San Diego Padres have added to their lineup in terms of offense this off-season, they don’t seem to be hoping that just the guys that they have acquired will be the ones producing this season, they are also looking for a bounce back year from second baseman Jedd Gyorko. Gyorko did not have the best offensive season last year, so in all honesty, if he does poorly again this season, I could see the Padres trading him, even though he just signed a big, five-year contract, you have to remember that he signed that contract under the Josh Byrnes-Era of the Padres’ front office.

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I will be completely honest, after the rookie season that Jedd Gyorko had in 2013, I can understand why Josh Byrnes wanted to lock him up long term. However it was only one year, and you know what happens when you look at one year of a player’s career, possibly something like this. I really hope that the Padres are right in giving him a second chance, but if I know the new front office of the Padres like I think I do, they will NOT put up with another bad season out of Jedd Gyorko.

So while we are on the topic of Jedd Gyorko’s one good year in 2013, let’s look into his numbers for that year shall we? He hit 23 home runs, hitting at a .249 clip for the year, while playing in 125 games. Not bad for a rookie right? Well, Josh Byrnes certainly took notice, but seeing as he wasn’t taking the team in the right direction, this move has been questioned by a lot of people, myself included.

What might have been a great rookie year, turned to flat out ugly in 2014 as he only hit .156 in the month of April. Earlier in the month, guess what the Padres did? They gave him that five-year, $35 million dollar contract I mentioned earlier. However according to Corey Brock of MLB.com, Jedd Gyorko had this to say about his new contract and how he was playing at that time: “I think I may have put too much pressure on myself.”

That certainly seems like a reasonable answer, however just like the Padres do, I expect him to have a much better year in 2015, and if he doesn’t, I don’t see him being the Padres’ starting second baseman come 2016. A. J. Preller is too aggressive and has that win-now mentality. He’ll just find somebody else to play second base for the Padres if Jedd Gyorko doesnt play well, for this reason I see Jedd Gyorko having a very short leash in 2015.

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