San Diego Padres, Wil Myers Open to Talking Extension

Right around the time the first pitch was thrown in San Digeo last night to kick off the team’s second half, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union Tribune reported that Wil Myers would be very interested in talking extension with the San Diego Padres.

Last season, new Padres GM A.J. Preller went all in, acquiring some overpriced superstars to make up the equivalent of a superstar team, and hoped that the conglomeration of talent he had assembled would result in at least a postseason berth. It didn’t.

Over the past year or so, Preller has been moving some pieces around to build for the future, and first baseman Wil Myers told reporters on Friday that he wants to be around for when it all comes together. “I love being here,” Myers told Lin. “I do really, truly believe that (General Manager) A.J. Preller has a plan for the future, and that’s a big deal when it comes to extension talks.”

Myers, 25, matched his career-high for games played in a single season (88) in the Padres 4-1 win over visiting San Francisco on Friday night. He also bashed his 20th home run of the season, adding to his running career-high total.

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Baseball Reference lists similar players through their age 24 season, and the ninth player on that list in Jermaine Dye. Both players had big rookie seasons, faced injuries in the following two years, and then had big age 25 seasons. Dye finished with 27 homers back in 1999, batting .294 with a .354 on-base percentage. This season Myers is batting .289 with a .351 OBP. Dye went on to have some pretty solid Major League seasons from that point on, so locking Myers up would not be a bad idea from a San Diego standpoint.

The fans in San Diego have endured quite the roller coaster ride over the past couple of seasons, first with the acquisitions of talent that many hoped would lead to contention, the disappointment that followed when it didn’t, selling off big-name parts like Craig Kimbrel, hosting the All-Star game, selling off Drew Pomeranz, and now potentially having a face of the franchise for years to come.

The San Diego Padres have set themselves up nicely through recent trades, and look to have a solid pipeline of players that should be ready to produce in the next two to three years. Signing Myers could be another show of loyalty to the fan base that the organization knows where it’s heading in the future.

The next question on everyone’s mind is how big of a deal could Myers be worth? I think a pretty decent comp would be Giants first baseman Brandon Belt, who signed a six-year, $79 million deal to stay in San Francisco through his age 33 season. Both players have struggled with injuries, and aren’t necessarily the mashers in the middle of the lineup that one thinks of when they think first basemen, but find themselves in the middle of the order because they have enough power to get the job done and can handle the bat well.

Belt’s deal gave him bumps in pay for his last two years of arbitration, and then $16M per year for the final four years. Myers has yet to reach arbitration, which he will after this season, and is under team control through the 2019 season. That would roughly be the same timeframe that San Diego could be hoping to really be contending, and it’s also after Myers’ age 28 season.

The prime of a player’s career has long thought to be their late 20s to early 30s, but recent trends have seen that players entering their 30s are a bit riskier. A deal could make sense for Myers if he can be signed at least a few seasons into his 30s, giving him enough time to collect on another contract, and that timeframe could also work with San Diego, as they would get his prime years and not necessarily have to have him under contract as he potentially declines.

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The other side of this is that Myers may actually want to hit free agency after the 2019 season, because he could have a chance to really cash in, with one more year left in his 20s to play. Yet, with his injury history, it may be smarter to take the money upfront as opposed to rolling the dice on a freak injury occurring for a number of years and missing out on a big payday. In this scenario, an injury to Myers wouldn’t necessarily sink the Pads, as a lot of their young core will be pre-arbitration, meaning they’ll make less money.

A contract extension has the potential to be a win-win for both sides. Now all that’s left to do is argue over money.

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