Padres keeping Jake Cronenworth is a reliable safety net this roster cannot replace

Ever since rumors of the Seidler family initiating the process of a franchise sale were reported, it's felt like the San Diego Padres would have to cut some type of long-term money from the books.

Because Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts (both 33 years old) are too old and expensive, and because Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill are too young and important to the future of the team, there's been an implicit understanding among Friars fans that Jake Cronenworth is sort of the odd-man out.

Though he hasn't quite recaptured the heights of his breakout 2021 campaign, Cronenworth has been a rock-solid contributor on the right side of the Padres' infield for the last half-decade. At a more-than-reasonable $11.4 million AAV and five years still remaining on his contract, it wouldn't have been hard to drum up interest in the 32-year-old.

And yet, A.J. Preller hasn't shed any money this winter (besides, potentially, via an assist from Yu Darvish), instead bringing in free agents Michael King and Sung-mun Song. With spring training now just weeks away, it's time to accept what Preller did long ago: Cronenworth is too valuable to the Padres to be traded.

Jake Cronenworth is more than worth the money the Padres owe him

Cronenworth's 2021 season was ostensibly the one that earned him his seven-year, $80 million extension, and he has yet to replicate or best the 21 home runs or 3.7 fWAR he produced in that campaign.

However, he really settled back into a groove in 2025, tying his 2021 wRC+ output (117) while walking significantly more than he has at any other point in his career. Though his power decline continued, he exhibited more patience and a far sturdier plate approach, skills that should age far better than any home-run binge would.

At 32 years old, there is defensible logic in selling high and moving him after such a strong season. But, with the Padres' unsettled bench picture still bogging down the team, his versatility is simply too valuable to pass up.

Primarily playing second base, Cronenworth did log double-digit games at both shortstop and first base last year, producing a perfectly adequate zero Outs Above Average. Having a capable middle infielder who can slide over to first base is a huge advantage for a shallow team, particularly if Sung-mun Song — the team's other versatile defender — is forced to start on a daily basis.

Perhaps this equation changes if Preller succeeds in adding a marquee first or second baseman. Maybe the Seidlers demand that the front office slashes the payroll before Opening Day. Conceivably, Song and Gavin Sheets could explode in spring training and lock down the right side of the infield.

Whether or not any of those things happen, though, Cronenworth is too valuable to the Padres to move. He may not raise the ceiling a great deal, but on an old team rife with roster holes and pitfalls, his steady presence is a much-needed floor raiser.