Ty France has already done the Padres a favor. The next one has to go the other way.
When he came back to San Diego in February on a minor-league deal, few could have guessed how quickly he’d turn into one of the club’s most important bats. The reigning Gold Glove winner, who was guaranteed $1.35 million after making the roster, has turned that modest commitment into a huge season. Entering Saturday, he was hitting .301/.366/.521 with a career-high 21 home runs.
His latest blast came Friday, a three-run homer in an 8-2 win over Miami that helped the Padres draw even with the Cubs and Phillies in the NL Wild Card race. What started as a non-roster invite has become a middle-of-the-order role for a team trying to get to October.
The challenge now is simple: keeping France will not cost $1.35 million next time.
Dennis Lin of The Athletic reported that the Padres have known since last offseason how strongly France wants to remain in San Diego. France’s camp is open to talking.
That’s not the same thing as giving the club a discount. He has made his preference clear, but preference and price are two different things.
It makes sense why he’d want to stay. France played at San Diego State, was drafted by the Padres in the 34th round, made his major-league debut here, left in a trade and eventually returned as a more polished player.
He knows the organization, the city and plenty of people in that clubhouse. That kind of familiarity matters.
But so does the business side. France is 32, and he has never signed a multiyear major-league contract.
This may be his best chance - maybe his only chance - to turn a career year into real long-term security. There’s no reason to expect him to leave money on the table just because the hometown story is neat.
San Diego already got the bargain version of France. He doesn’t owe them another one.
And this season is stronger than the batting line alone might suggest. France has posted an +8 Outs Above Average and a +10 fielding run value. At the plate, his average exit velocity has climbed to a career-best 92 mph, and his 48.4 percent hard-hit rate is also the highest of his career.
There’s still some caution baked in. His .437 expected slugging percentage is below his actual .521 mark, and nobody should assume another .300 average or 20-plus homers is waiting around the corner. But even with that risk, his profile points to a player worth keeping.
A short multiyear deal with an option would make sense. It would give France the security he’s looking for while allowing the Padres to keep an elite defensive first baseman without locking themselves into money deep into his 30s.
That kind of outcome would have looked far-fetched in spring training, when first base seemed crowded with Gavin Sheets, Miguel Andujar and Nick Castellanos all expected to be part of the mix. France looked like a defensive replacement, maybe a final bench piece. Instead, he made the competition irrelevant.
The bigger point is that the Padres shouldn’t assume they can just find another Ty France. Bargain signings do not usually work out this cleanly.
It also gives the new ownership group an early test. Kwanza Jones and José E.
Feliciano said they were “all in” at their introductory news conference, and that kind of promise eventually gets measured in decisions that don’t come with the spotlight of a big free-agent chase. Keeping a player who is still valuable once he’s no longer cheap is exactly the sort of move that matters.
France wants to stay. The Padres should want him back. That gives both sides a real chance to get something done before the market gets involved.
In Other News...
Padres Just Got A Playoff Race Break They Needed
The Padres got a little help in the National League playoff chase when the Mets handled the Phillies 10-3, a result that tightened the pressure on one of San Diegos closest wild-card rivals. New York got big swings from Carson Benge, who hit his 19th home run, and Francisco Alvarez, whose three-run homer helped put the game away before the bullpen took over and kept Philadelphia quiet after the fifth inning.
For San Diego, it was the kind of outside result that can matter just as much as anything happening on its own scoreboard. Every stumble by the Phillies changes the math in the crowded race, and this one landed with extra weight because it knocked Philadelphia back in the standings while giving the Padres a cleaner path as the stretch run gets tighter. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Just Got A New Reason To Believe In This Lineup
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Ethan Salas provided the latest reason for optimism, coming off the bench as a pinch hitter and delivering his first career walk-off. With the Padres now at 86-69 and holding a one-game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies with seven games left, every timely hit feels bigger, and this one added another layer to a lineup that seems to be finding confidence at just the right time. [Read more 🡒]
Sandy Alcantara Gets A Tough Shot To Stop A Marlins Sweep
The Padres are back in position to finish off a sweep Sunday afternoon, with Walker Buehler lined up to start as they try to keep rolling against the Marlins. San Diego has already taken the first two games of the series, and the finale comes with a familiar kind of late-series pressure: one more win to close out the set and leave Miami with nothing.
Sandy Alcantara will get the ball for the Marlins, giving San Diego a tougher final test than the first two games might suggest. First pitch is set for 1:10 p.m. PT, with the matchup carrying on Padres.TV, the MLB app and across the radio broadcast network, as the Padres look to turn a strong weekend into a clean sweep. [Read more 🡒]