San Diego Padres: Four Affordable Free-Agents Friars Should Pursue

Platoon at first-base could work out well for the San Diego Padres

Lucas Duda finished out last season in the American League with the Tampa Bay Rays after spending the first seven-and-a-half seasons of his career with the New York Mets. A first baseman by trade, Duda is a behemoth of a man. A patient, left-handed hitter, Lucas Duda would be the perfect complement to San Diego Padres All-Star Wil Myers.

Over Duda’s eight MLB seasons, he’s put up an impressive OPS of .796 to go along with 162-game averages of 28 HR and 81 RBI. Duda absolutely crushes right-handed pitching, owning a career slugging percentage of .486 vs. righties.

Granted, Duda doesn’t hit for a great average (.242 career BA), but his penchant for getting on base and hitting mile-long home runs make Duda a low-risk, high-reward option for the San Diego Padres. Having a two-headed monster of Wil Myers and Lucas Duda platooning at first base for the Friars could have significant positive results on the offensive production of this team.