Breaking Down the San Diego Padres Outfield Position Battles
By Ben Fadden
Left Field
1. Wil Myers
You could say that it has been an interesting and bumpy ride for Wil Myers in San Diego. He got traded to San Diego in a three-team deal involving the Nationals and Rays in December 2014. He played center field in 2015, and then in 2016, the team decided to move him to first base to fill a hole there. In 2017, he remained at first, but moved back out to the outfield last season, this time to right field. Then, Andy Green tried to move him to left field after he struggled in right. He got hurt a couple of times, and when Christian Villanueva got hurt late in the season, Myers tried to play third base.
At Padres Fan Fest a few weeks back, he told the media that he would yet again (for the second time in a year) be moving back out to the outfield.
He and the Padres have decided to permanently keep him in left field for the 2019 season in an attempt to keep him healthy, more focused at the plate, and also to succeed in the field as well.
“I learned a lot of things about left field, and I learned what it was like to play outfield at a high level,” Myers said after reporting to the Padres spring training complex this past weekend. “I’m excited to take that into this year and continue on that.”
In 2018, Myers had to miss half the season with injuries including right arm nerve irritation, a left oblique strain, and a left foot contusion.
When he was actually on the field, he hit .253 with 11 home runs and 39 RBI’s in 83 games.
The best case scenario for Myers is he will play about 140 games. His health has been an issue since he came to San Diego, playing just 60 games in 2015 and 83 games in 2018, but playing over 300 games between 2016-2017.