SAN DIEGO — Evidently, it’s always extension season in San Diego.
On Saturday, Jake Cronenworth became the latest player to tie his long-term future to the Padres.
The 29-year-old infielder agreed to a seven-year contract extension that will keep him in San Diego through the 2030 season. Terms were not announced, but a source told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand that it’s worth $80 million.
A two-time All-Star, Cronenworth had two seasons remaining on his contract before he was eligible to hit free agency. The extension essentially buys out his two remaining arbitration years and his first five free-agent-eligible seasons.
In December 2019, Cronenworth arrived in San Diego as a fringe prospect widely viewed as a throw-in in a trade with the Rays that also netted Tommy Pham and sent Hunter Renfroe and infield prospect Xavier Edwards to Tampa Bay.
Quickly, it became “the Jake Cronenworth trade.” He made the big league club in 2020, then finished second in National League Rookie of the Year voting. In each of the two successive seasons, he reached the All-Star team, and he authored a number of memorable moments in the 2022 postseason — none more so than his go-ahead hit that helped eliminate the Dodgers in Game 4 of the NL Division Series last October.
In his three seasons with the Padres, Cronenworth has posted a .256/.338/.430 slash line with superlative defense across the entire infield, though mainly at second and first base. His long-term positional fit with the club remains somewhat unclear.
Cronenworth is currently playing first base, with Ha-Seong Kim having moved to second upon Bogaerts’ arrival. Cronenworth is capable of playing all four infield spots — and playing them well. But he was a Gold Glove finalist at second base last season.
To be clear, Cronenworth’s adaptability and versatility is precisely what made him so attractive to the Padres in the first place — and surely part of the reason they decided to lock him up long-term.
Next up on the extension tour? Josh Hader and Blake Snell are set to become free agents after the season. There’s no indication of traction toward an extension with either of those two (though there was also no indication of a Cronenworth deal coming to fruition until late Friday night.)
A potential Juan Soto extension looms largest, though general manager A.J. Preller noted on Thursday that Soto has expressed a preference to focus on the season.
“With Juan,” Preller said, “it’s been more about the baseball side of things, honestly,”
With the season underway, it’s entirely possible the Cronenworth deal signifies the end of the Padres’ extension spree. Perhaps, now, the focus shifts toward the day to day of a season with unprecedented expectations in San Diego.
Then again, these are the Padres of Preller and owner Peter Seidler.
