Roberto Alomar Tabbed Padres Best International Signing of All-Time

In a recent article on MLB.com, infielder Roberto Alomar was selected as the best international prospect of all-time by the San Diego Padres.

To be honest, when you think of Roberto Alomar you typically don’t think of him being with the San Diego Padres.

But it was the Padres who signed him out of Puerto Rico in 1985, and Alomar started his Hall of Fame career with the Padres hitting .283 with 246 runs scored, 78 doubles, 22 home runs, 157 RBI, and 90 stolen bases in three seasons, including his first All-Star appearance in 1990.

San Diego would later trade him and Joe Carter to the Toronto Blue Jays for Tony Fernandez and Fred McGriff.

While Fernandez, and specifically McGriff, were really good for the Padres the next two seasons, I think most Padres fans would like to have this trade back.

The Blue Jays would go on to win the 1992 and 1993 World Series with Alomar and Carter.

But enough about that terrible reminder.

The article from AJ Cassavell on MLB.com ranks the five best international prospects of all-time for the Padres.

After Alomar he ranks them Benito Santiago, Akinori Otsuka, Franmil Reyes, and Oliver Perez.

In the future, he mentions Luis Patino as someone who could crack this list, as well as others like Michel Baez, Luis Urias, and Adrian Morejon.

If I’m being quite frank, this list is somewhat sad. When the best international prospect you ever signed spent most of his Hall of Fame career with another team, that’s depressing.

When you look at a rival team like the Dodgers, their list includes Roberto Clemente, Pedro Martinez, Adrian Beltre, Fernando Valenzuela, and Kenley Jansen.

And yes, some of those players spent the best parts of their careers with other teams, but it just shows you how much better they’ve been at signing international players.

Of course, they also have had a lot more money to spend internationally in the past and that certainly helps.

If you look at the Rockies, their list includes Ubaldo Jimenez, Juan Uribe, Jhoulys Chacin, Manny Corpas, and Neifi Perez.

That makes me feel a little better about the Padres’ list, but I still hope the Padres do a better job in the international market in the future. And I certainly think they have made strides in that area over the past couple of years.

Let me know who you’re favorite international signings for the Padres have been over the years and who you think could be added to this list in the future.