FanPost

Padres starting RF'er in 2013 will be....

Upton? The other Upton? Soriano, with the Chubbies picking up most of the tab? Denorable?


In a thin 2013 free agent crop, outside of the mega deal that Josh Hamilton will get, it seems the only decent RF's the Padres will be able to acquire this offseason will be via trade. Trade means giving up good young players from the farm like Jedd Gyorko, and/or most likely some of those blue chip starters like Weiland, Erlin, etc. These are players the Padres don't want to lose.

With the emergence of Chase Headley, the superstar, and Logan Forsythe, the super solid rookie, the Padres have nowhere to play the accomplished Gyorko. They thought 3rd base would be available....it's not. They thought 2nd base would be open....it's kinda not. Forsythe is too good of a ball player and looks to develop into a steady .300 hitting second baseman as early as next year.

What about Gyorko in Right Field, you say? While I know this is not a video game where you can assign players anywhere on the field just to get their bat in the lineup, I believe it's worth a shot.

Body type, you say? If Kirby Puckett and Tony Gwynn could play in the outfield then so can a 24 year old Jedd Gyorko. Let's look at the Pro's and Con's.

Pro's:

-It gets your top prospect in the starting lineup

-Addresses the RF upgrade issue

-In theory, improves your offense with power and average

-Prevents the team from trading a prospect

-Frees up the front office to reallocate money from a new RF'er to an ace pitcher

Con's:

-He doesn't know how to play RF

-Hurts team defense

-Could hurt himself

-Switching positions could affect his hitting

Discuss.

This FanPost was written by a member of the Gaslamp Ball community and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Gaslamp Ball staff or SB Nation.