San Diego Padres: Making the Case For Signing Chris Davis

After going all out last offseason and coming up short in the regular season, it’s a good bet the San Diego Padres will be more conservative this winter. However, if they decide to go for a splash, they needn’t look further than slugger Chris Davis.

The former Orioles third baseman showed in the second half of 2015 that he can be a truly elite run producer in MLB. In the soft-hitting National League, a guy like that becomes even more of a commodity.

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His 47 home runs were the most in the bigs and his 117 RBI weren’t far off the league lead either. That’s after having a relatively underwhelming first half. It’s no secret the Padres’ offense could use the help. They scored barely four runs per game, good enough for 23rd in the majors.

Yonder Alonso’s inability to stay healthy has made him unreliable. That means the Padres need a first baseman.                                                                             Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

At first base, they were especially weak. Yonder Alonso missed considerable time for the third straight season and hit just five home runs in 103 games. Brett Wallace performed admirably in limited time, but might not be the long-term solution at the position. Another option at first base is Wil Myers, who can play there defensively.

Even Myers struggled at the plate last season, though. He hit .253 in just 60 games. Davis could take away all these problems.

Of course, signing him could cost the Padres over $100 million over five years. That should be too rich for their blood, but that doesn’t mean it will be. General manager A.J. Preller has surprised people before and he could do it again with Davis.

If he does, it might set the team back financially, preventing them from addressing other needs such as shortstop this offseason. It would surely patch up the team’s first base problem, though.