San Diego Padres: Can James Loney boost hapless offense?

By Tim Haberin | Apr 8, 2016

Oct 1, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Rays first baseman James Loney (21) singles during the seventh inning against the Miami Marlins at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

The San Diego Padres reportedly signed James Loney to a minor league deal. Could he make much of a difference for an offense held scoreless over its first three games?

Yesterday, MLB Network insider Jon Heyman reported that the San Diego Padres reached an agreement with free agent first baseman James Loney on a minor league contract. The deal was apparently confirmed by Loney himself on Twitter later that night:

With a minor league pact in hand, Loney will presumably need to prove himself at Triple-A first before getting a chance at the big league level. However, ESPN’s Buster Olney reports that the contract includes an opt-out clause that will allow Loney to pursue an MLB opportunity with another club if one presents itself.

But considering how thoroughly futile the Padres offense looked during its first three games of the regular season, it’s hard not to see Loney getting the call to join San Diego sooner rather than later.

The Friars were held scoreless over all 27 innings of their opening three-game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers. While things will almost surely get better (they couldn’t get much worse), the prognosis for the Padres’ lineup isn’t a rosy one: the team ranked 23rd in runs (650) and 28th in OPS (.685) a year ago, and their offseason additions (Alexei Ramirez, Jon Jay) weren’t exactly earth-shattering.

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The Tampa Bay Rays released the 31-year-old Loney just prior to the season after three years with the team. He has quietly been a very solid hitter throughout his ten seasons in the big leagues with the Dodgers, Boston Red Sox and Rays. He owns a career .285/.338/.411 slash line while averaging 10 home runs and 64 RBIs per campaign.

Loney enjoyed arguably his best MLB season only three years ago in 2013, his first in Tampa Bay. He slashed .299/.348/.430 with 13 homers and 75 RBIs in 158 games. Unfortunately, last season showed some definite signs of decline, as Loney’s batting line dipped to .280/.322/.357 along with just four long balls and 32 RBIs. He was also limited to 104 contests due to an oblique strain and broken finger.

Despite last season’s slowdown, the lefty-batting Loney should hit for a fair average and has enjoyed considerable more success against right-handed pitchers in his career. In spite of 2015’s underwhelming overall numbers, he did slash a respectable .296/.341/.372 against righties. He owns a lifetime .783 OPS versus right-handers (compared to a .653 OPS opposite lefties) and could be a decent platoon option for San Diego.

Loney certainly won’t have a transformative effect on the Padres’ offense, but he could provide them with some additional flexibility both in the lineup and in the field. Playing him at first base could allow the Friars to move Wil Myers back to more familiar territory in the outfield while keeping Melvin Upton (.623 OPS last three seasons) on the bench more often.

For a club decidedly in rebuild mode, Loney could also offer a helpful veteran presence. He’s been praised for his leadership skills in the past and could be a good clubhouse guy to have around as the Padres attempt to lay the groundwork for their future.

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If San Diego’s offense is going to spring to life in 2016, it will be through the bats of players like Myers and Matt Kemp, not James Loney. However, he could still be an important ingredient in other ways as the team tries to turn things around after an ugly start.

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