Hosmer not thinking about trade rumors

Myers sits vs. RHP in Frazier's San Diego debut

July 28th, 2021

SAN DIEGO -- It might be 's last week as a Padre. It might not.

In either case, the first baseman says, he isn't spending much time thinking about the ramifications of potentially being dealt from the organization he signed a record-setting eight-year contract with in February 2018.

"It's all part of being a professional," Hosmer said. "Everyone realizes there's a business side to it. But we can only control what we can control. I'm in the lineup today, so I'm going to go out there and do anything I can to get us a win."

Indeed, Hosmer was in the starting lineup for the opener of a two-game series against Oakland on Tuesday night. Still, it's fair to expect Hosmer on the bench for Wednesday's game against Oakland lefty Sean Manaea, and the arrival of Adam Frazier via a trade with Pittsburgh almost certainly means a lesser role for Hosmer.

That is, if he's still a Padre after Friday's 1 p.m. PT Trade Deadline. According to sources, the Padres are open to moving Hosmer in a deal, potentially for pitching. With the Padres hovering around the Collective Bargaining Tax threshold, it's possible they'd look to move Hosmer's sizable contract along with a prospect haul, in order to take on salary elsewhere.

Hosmer, who is owed $60 million over the final four years of his deal, says he hasn't had discussions with the team's management or front office since The Athletic reported on Monday that his name had come up in trade discussions.

"Those guys don't owe me anything," Hosmer said. "I just have to come here and do my job. My job is to play first base tonight if I'm in the lineup. If not, it's to be ready to go off the bench."

Hosmer has mostly struggled this season, hitting .266/.330/.381, though he's begun to heat up in July. Once an integral part of the team's rebuild, the veteran has taken a backseat this season, and could now be relegated to something of a bench/platoon role.

Or he might be traded. And while Hosmer made it clear he understands the business side of the those trade rumors, he also made it clear he didn't want to talk about them.

Hosmer was asked if he would be disappointed to be dealt now (with the Padres in the thick of a pennant race) after he'd endured some of the lows of his first couple seasons in San Diego. He called it a "dumb question," thanked the media and walked off.

Myers sits
On Day 1 of the Frazier era in San Diego, it was Wil Myers who gave way in the starting lineup against Oakland. Frazier played left field, with Tommy Pham sliding to right, in Myers’ place.

That isn’t to say Frazier is taking Myers’ spot. The Padres have made it clear that different players will sit each day, and that the versatile Frazier gives them a number of options.

“It’s going to be [based on] matchups,” manager Jayce Tingler said. “It’s how guys are playing, how they’re performing. Winning baseball is going to be the driver of this. In order to get to the playoffs, in order to win a World Series, we need very good players up and down the roster.”

That means on the bench, too. And while the Padres will use all sorts of machinations to determine their day-to-day lineup, it seems likely that -- if the offense remains intact -- the lefty-hitting Hosmer and righty-hitting Myers would give way most often, in something of a platoon.

“Whatever the manager asks of you, you do that,” Hosmer said. “You handle your role as a professional, do it to the best of your abilities and just try and do your part on a winning team.”

Suspended Braves game rescheduled
The remainder of the Padres’ suspended game against Atlanta has been scheduled for Sept. 24 in San Diego, when those two teams are slated to begin a three-game series at Petco Park.

The Braves were the home team on July 21 when skies broke loose in the middle of the fifth inning, with the Padres leading 5-4. The remainder of that game -- which was part of a doubleheader and is still scheduled to be a seven-inning game -- is slated to be played at 5:10 p.m. PT with Atlanta at the plate in the bottom of the fifth.

The two clubs will then play their originally scheduled nine-inning game, with fans with tickets to that game also being admitted to the suspended game.