What Will We Look Like in 2011?

I was looking over every position on the team and am wondering what our lineup will look like at the start of 2011?

C Yorvit Torrealba/Nick Hundley
Yorvit Torrealba is exploring his chances out in free agency and it looks like the job will be handed to Nick Hundley again for the start of the season. We should look to bring in another veteran catcher to give Hundley some rest. This is Hundley’s job to lose.

1B Adrian Gonzalez
Will Gonzo be here at the start of the 2011 season? Or will we make the much anticipated trade? If Gonzalez is not here, Kyle Blanks will be given the chance to play at 1B.

2B David Eckstein
Eck is a free agent and it is not known what the plans are for the scrappy 2B. He provides veteran leadership to the team and solid defense up the middle. I would love to get a little more offensive production from the position, BUT there just seems to be something the Eck’s presence brings to the lineup and the team.

SS Jerry Hairston/Miguel Tejada
Do we have to keep brother Scott Hairston on the team in order to keep Jerry on it? Jerry Hairston might have been our MVP last season and he is entering the offseason as a free agent. He has said that he would like to return to the Padres, and we would welcome him back with open arms!

Miggy is also entering free agency and he played well down the stretch. He looked motivated and came up with a number of clutch hits to keep us in the race. I would love to bring him back and have him challenge for the 3b job.

3B Chase Headley
Headley will be heading into arbitration this season and I have not been satisfied with his production. His defense was solid BUT he couldn’t provide anything on the offensive end. He strikes out way more than he should for a guy that can’t hit the ball over the fence. I would hope that we bring in somebody to challenge Headley at the position.

LF Chris Denorfia
Denorfia played strong at times but he seems to be a platoon type player at best. As the theme for the San Diego Padres, I would like to see a little more offensive production from the corner outfielder role.

CF Tony Gwynn Jr
He is one of the best fielders in the game! WHEN he gets on base, he makes things happen. He just needs to be more consistent at getting on base. He provides such a spark to the team defensively and finds ways into the lineup with his ability to cover the huge Petco Park outfield.

RF Ryan Ludwick/Will Venable
Streaky Will Venable will probably be brought in again to start in the OF and hopefully he can gain some consistency in that bat. Venable can be a great offensive weapon on this team with his speed and ability to hit the ball out of the park. He should be given another opportunity to start in the outfield.

What do we do with Ryan Ludwick? He has proven in seasons past that he can really hit the ball. He looked to put a lot of pressure on himself with the trade from STL and just struggled as a Padre. If we bring him back next season, lets just hope to see the Ludwick of a couple seasons past.

Overall
I was hoping that we would add a little more offensive firepower to the lineup BUT it looks like we will be losing some offensive firepower before gaining some. Torrealba leaving would be a big loss and any other major move that we make would include trading our best power bat in the lineup, Adrian Gonzalez. I hope that I am wrong and we bring in some bats, but we may be stuck with what we have.