Eric Hosmer doesn’t sound thrilled by the Padres’ attempts to trade him

Eric Hosmer’s latest quote indicates he’s unhappy with the Padres for trying to trade him

Eric Hosmer doesn’t sound too thrilled with the San Diego Padres, but who can blame him?

For weeks now, they’ve reportedly been ‘aggressively shopping’ their first baseman, attempting to unload him and the blockbuster contract they gave him four years ago. He has four years and $59M remaining on the deal, with an $18M AAV.

On Saturday, the latest trade rumor had him potentially going to the New York Mets, possibly with Chris Paddack, in exchange for Dom Smith. While insiders now say that the trade is off, Hosmer doesn’t sound too happy about any of these rumors. Here’s his latest quote, from The Athletic‘s Ken Rosenthal:

Has Eric Hosmer lived up to his lucrative Padres contract?

Ahead of the 2018 season, the Padres gave Hosmer an eight-year contract for $144M. At the time, it was the biggest contract they’d ever tendered, though they quickly surpassed it the following spring, giving Manny Machado $300M over a full decade. Rare is it that a player actually measures up to the lofty expectations that come with contracts of these magnitudes, especially when it’s the richest the organization has ever given out.

Put yourself in Hosmer’s shoes, and it’s easy to understand why he’s not thrilled with his team for trying to send him pretty much anywhere else. He came to San Diego from Kansas City as a Silver Slugger with a 2015 World Series ring and four Gold Gloves. They were hoping he’d usher in a new era of competitive Padres baseball, and four years later, they’re doing everything they can to get rid of him, and haven’t been subtle about it.

But Hosmer has not lived up to the contract, not even close. After the aforementioned accolades and back-to-back 25-homer seasons in his last two years with the Royals, Hosmer has only hit 20+ home runs once in four years with the Padres. After hitting nine home runs in just 38 games in 2020, Hosmer only hit 12 in 151 games in 2021. His batting average is a full twenty points lower than it was with the Royals, and his OPS dropped from .781 to .738. And while his contract has been marred by extenuating circumstances like a global pandemic throwing sports and humanity for a horrible loop, his on-field performance is on him, not on the team. They pay up; he has to play up.

The issue now is that Hosmer knows his team wants to trade him, but they haven’t been able to find any takers. So for now, they’re stuck together. Awkward.

Padres make significant, unexpected trade to add Sean Manaea to already-deep pitching staff

The San Diego Padres have acquired LHP Sean Manaea from the Oakland A's in exchange for two top prospects, further bolstering their deep pitching staff.