Eric Hosmer to join a rebuilding team, but Padres appear further along than Royals

When Eric Hosmer agreed to join the Padres in San Diego, he agreed to join a team smack in the middle of its own rebuilding process, not completely unlike the one the Royals are embarking on in Kansas City.

The only difference: The Padres are ostensibly further along.

As things stand, the Padres are not realistically in a position to contend this year for a division title in the National League West, what with the Los Angeles Dodgers set up for perennial success and the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks coming off wild-card berths. The San Francisco Giants, too, have added players such as Andrew McCutchen and Evan Longoria through offseason trades designed to help them return to the period earlier this decade when they ran roughshod over the National League.

But the Padres do have a strong farm system in place, including fast-rising, 19-year-old shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. and seven others on Baseball America’s list of top 100 prospects. The Royals, who once upon a time owned the best farm system in baseball, have no one on the list.

The Royals will have four picks in the top 40 during this summer’s first-year player draft, but even if all those selections pan out, it will be years before they’re ready.

It’s been years since the Padres were part of the conversation — they last appeared in the playoffs after winning back-to-back division titles in 2005-06 —and the drought may very well still be a few seasons from ending.

But by adding Hosmer on a reported eight-year, $144 million contract that is front-loaded through the first five seasons, the Padres have placed a bet on his intangibles by offering him the richest deal in their history.

Throughout the quiet months on the free-agent market this winter, agent Scott Boras — who represents Hosmer — and the Royals harped on Hosmer’s leadership skills. He was the foil to outfielder Alex Gordon, who prefers to lead by example, and catcher Salvador Perez, whose passion is infectious. Hosmer was more even-keeled.

“He always made you feel special whether you were a 12-year veteran superstar or you had one day in the show,” catcher Drew Butera said Sunday morning after the news of Hosmer’s departure broke. “He was the guy that you went to and he always built you up and led the team.”

Hosmer was a bridge-gapper for the Royals in more ways than one. When they drafted and signed him to a $6 million bonus in 2008, the Royals’ expectations for Hosmer wove seamlessly with the belief that a young group of homegrown players would deliver the franchise’s second World Series championship.

Making sure the Royals had the talent in place around him — other notable free agents Lorenzo Cain and Mike Moustakas among the group — was the key to making that possibility a reality.

“You never know how a player is going to perform, but we felt really good about Eric Hosmer,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said during an afternoon news conference at the Royals’ spring training complex. “(Royals scouting director) Lonnie Goldberg had a deep relationship with him and was very focused and relentless on us pursuing him.

“I think he is one of the guys who can do whatever you want in the game. … He’s just been a really gifted athlete.”

Hosmer hit at a .284 clip, knocked out 206 doubles and 127 homers and drove in 566 runs over seven years in a Royals uniform. He won three straight Gold Gloves and locked up his fourth in 2017, and he was the league’s Silver Slugger winner at first base last year.

When Hosmer debuted for the Royals in 2011, the team had lost at least 93 games in six of the previous seven seasons. But by 2013, the Royals improved to 86-76, finishing above .500 for the first time since 2003 and with fewer than 79 losses for the first time since they were 70-74 in 1995. Back-to-back American League pennants and a World Series championship followed.

It’s a parallel that could follow Hosmer to San Diego, where he will join former minor-league teammate Wil Myers in an attempt to do the same thing on the West Coast.

Hosmer already has a track record of success at his new home confines. He owns a career .441/.474/.765 slash line and he has driven in 14 runs at Petco Park over eight games. He was also crowned the All-Star Game MVP in 2016 and enjoyed success during the second round of the 2017 World Baseball Classic there.

“If you add a player like that, you’re obviously accelerating the process,” Myers told reporters at Padres’ camp in Peoria, Ariz. “It’s one of those things where adding a player like that, not just for the fans, but also the players here, to see how serious we are going forward in the rebuilding process, it’s going to be great for the team, great for the clubhouse and also good for the fans.”

This story was originally published February 18, 2018 at 5:59 PM with the headline "Eric Hosmer to join a rebuilding team, but Padres appear further along than Royals."