San Diego Padres: Could Derek Dietrich be an Option for 2B

With the Cincinnati Reds releasing Derek Dietrich we see if he could potentially help out the San Diego Padres in 2020 at second base.

Second base has been the biggest question mark for the San Diego Padres all offseason since they traded Luis Urias to the Milwaukee Brewers.

They then traded for Jurickson Profar, later signed Brian Dozier, and even more recently traded for Jorge Mateo.

Dozier has since been released and Mateo is out after testing positive for COVID-19.

Clearly they are still looking for the right fit at second base not only for the 2020 season but beyond.

Profar will most certainly get the first shot at the position when the season begins. But coming off a season in which he hit just .218 the leash for him has to be short in a 60-game season.

Mateo is unlikely to be ready for Opening Day, but either way, I look at him more as a possible long-term solution.

Someone who could potentially be a good short-term solution at second base for the Padres is the recently released Derek Dietrich.

The Reds have a very crowded lineup and it was unlikely Dietrich was going to find many at-bats with them in 2020.

But the 31-year-old Dietrich still has some good years left in him. In fact, his 2019 season wasn’t much different than Profar’s — although, that’s not really a compliment.

He hit just .187 last year but cranked 19 home runs in just 251 at-bats.

And that’s what you’re getting with Dietrich, a lot of home runs and a lot of strikeouts.

He was still a 1.1 WAR player according to FanGraphs last year in just 113 games, while Profar was a 1.3 WAR player in 139 games.

Like Profar, Dietrich is capable of playing all over the field playing first, second, third, and left field in 2019 for the Reds.

He actually had a positive DRS of three at second base last year in 355.1 innings, while Profar had a disastrous -15 DRS at second in 2019.

I’m not saying it’s a perfect fit for the Padres or one that should happen, but I definitely think it’s something to consider. It never hurts to have a power lefty hanging around.