The solution to the Guardians’ offensive problems is, obviously, a journeyman first baseman.
The Guardians chose Rhys Hoskins over Ty France when looking for a right-handed hitting first baseman this offseason… and that was a poor choice, so far. Hoskins has a 92 wRC+, .289 xwOBA/.301 wOBA, 32/15 K/BB%, 11 homers and terrible defense. France has a 142 wRC+, .334 xwOBA/.376 wOBA, 23.4/4.8 K/BB% and 16 homers for the San Diego Padres while playing the best first base defense in baseball.
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Will the Padres be selling? They are .500 and 1.5 games out of the third wildcard spot. There are no guarantees. They will certainly want an overpay for France, given how he has played, if they trade him, and it’s important to note that he is producing about .040 points better than his xwOBA. Would the Guardians consider trading Manzardo for France and a Padres’ prospect they are interested in? Is there a chance they do a Francisco Mejia-type move and trade Cooper Ingle for the chance of putting a 142 wRC+ right-handed hitter in the middle of their lineup?
France is putting up career highs in average exit velocity, barrel rate and bat speed. Every metric makes it clear that his season is not a fluke. Rather than double-down on the mistake of trusting in David Fry and choosing Hoskins, the Guardians should correct their error and see if an overpay offer convinces AJ Preller, Padres GM, to do a little threading the needle dealing, selling high on France’s breakout.
Let me know what you think about the idea of acquiring Ty France in the comments below!
