Padres’ restless offseason could end with a homecoming nobody expected

The San Diego Padres didn’t just lose out on Luis Arraez — they also lost the concept he represented. Arraez was contact certainty and a plug-and-play answer that made the infield feel stable at first base. Then the San Francisco Giants swooped in with a one-year, $12 million deal and basically dared San Diego to come up with a Plan B. 

That’s how you get here: a “homecoming” rumor that’s equal parts fascinating and mildly humiliating.

According to Chris Cotillo of MassLive, the San Diego Padres are among the teams showing interest in Ty France, along with the Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Mets, and New York Yankees.

Padres’ humbling pivot after Arraez puts Ty France in the spotlight

The fit isn’t hard to see. San Diego’s lineup has had too many nights where the ball doesn’t move. France is another contact-first bat with a right-handed profile that doesn’t get played off the field by platoon matchups.

But the Padres also have to be honest about what they’d be buying.

The recent offensive track record is… fine. Last year’s .257/.320/.360 line with seven homers in 490 plate appearances screams “useful,” not “solution.” He’s never been a big walk guy, but he does crowd the plate enough to steal value with hit-by-pitches. The hard contact, though, is more “meh” than menace.

What changes the conversation is the glove. The sudden defensive rebound was real enough to turn into a Gold Glove at first base, powered by metrics like 10 Outs Above Average. That’s not a small perk for a team that lives on run prevention when the offense gets moody.

And yes — the “homecoming” angle lands because it’s personal. This is a player the Padres shipped out in that 2020 seven-player swap with the Seattle Mariners. If he walks back through the door now, it’s basically the franchise admitting the offseason has drifted from aggressive to improvisational.

After missing on Luis Arraez, though? A steady, first base option who can put the ball in play might be exactly the kind of “not exciting but necessary” move that keeps April from getting weird.