San Diego Padres: Dreaming of what could be with Franchy Cordero

We take a look at what could be for the San Diego Padres if they ever got a healthy season from outfielder Franchy Cordero.

The San Diego Padres are actively looking for an upgrade in center field and they may already have the answer in Franchy Cordero.

I’ve been holding off writing this article for a while because I know as soon as I do Franchy will get injured or something and I really want to see him stay healthy and put it all together.

The 25-year-old has played in just 79 Major League games over parts of three seasons with a career average of .240/.306 and 10 home runs.

In 2019 he only played in 9 games with the Padres before his season pretty much ended because of injuries.

But in 8 Minor League seasons he’s hit a combined .279/.335 with 50 home runs in 2,208 at-bats to go along with 104 stolen bases.

In 2016 he played in 137 games and had 555 at-bats playing at three different levels and finishing in Triple-A. That year he hit .290/.344 with 16 home runs and 23 stolen bases.

The very next season he hit .326/.369 in 93 Triple-A games with 17 home runs and 15 stolen bases before making his big league debut.

Ever since then it’s been a battle for Franchy to stay on the field.

Even during the offseason this year he suffered a glute injury that set him back.

But the reason I’m writing this article is because he appears to finally be healthy and is having great success in the Dominican Winter League.

In a small sample size of 9 games, Franchy is hitting .364/.462 with 1 home run, 5 runs scored, 10 RBI, and 6 walks to 12 strikeouts for an OPS of 1.037.

Obviously that’s a very small sample size and different competition, but just the fact that he’s on the field and playing well is encouraging news.

While the Padres appear to still be in the mix for Japanese centerfielder Shogo Akiyama — who apparently has three-year offers on the table — they may have a potential fit already on the roster.

I get that at this point you can’t go into a season banking on Franchy to be healthy. And we honestly don’t even know how good he would be if given the every day job.

If I had to put projections on him I’d say he hits .275/.320 with 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases with an OPS around .750 and a WAR of around 2.

That would certainly be an upgrade and I think he has the upside to do even more than that.

It sure is nice to dream about what a healthy Franchy Cordero could look like in center for the Padres. Let’s all just hope and pray that the toolsy outfielder can stay healthy in 2020.