The San Diego Padres have signed first baseman Eric Hosmer to an eight-year, $144 million contract through the 2025 season, executive vice president/general manager A.J. Preller announced on Feb. 20. The agreement, which is the largest in club history, includes an opt-out clause after the fifth season.
Hosmer, 28, played in all 162 games (160 starts) for the Kansas City Royals in 2017 and set career highs in hits (192), average (.318), on-base percentage (.385), slugging (.498), OPS (.882), total bases (300), walks (66) and WAR (4.0), while tying career highs in home runs (25), runs (98) and fielding percentage (.997). The 6-4, 225-pound first baseman also captured his first Silver Slugger Award last season and his fourth Gold Glove Award (2013-15, 2017).
“We’re truly excited to have Eric as part of the Padres organization,” said Preller. “His resume speaks for itself. Eric has been a winner throughout his career, both as an integral part of a championship team and as a player who’s earned a tremendous reputation on and off the field. We believe his leadership and passion for the game will be invaluable as we work towards our goal of a World Series championship.”
“Eric’s decision to join our club represents a significant moment in Padres history,” said Padres executive chairman Ron Fowler and general partner Peter Seidler. “He has competed on baseball’s biggest stages and has embraced each opportunity. The intangibles and experience that he brings to the table will be vital as we continue the development of our young club and strive to bring a championship to deserving Padres fans everywhere.”
Over seven Major League seasons (2011-17), Hosmer has a .284 career average (1,132-for-3,991) with a .342 OBP, 206 doubles, 16 triples, 127 home runs, 566 RBI, 60 stolen bases and 547 runs scored in 1,048 games.
A 2015 World Series champion with the Royals, Hosmer has played in 31 career postseason games with a .276 average (34-for-123), four doubles, one triple, three home runs and 29 RBI. He earned his first career All-Star selection in 2016 and was named MVP of the Midsummer Classic at Petco Park, going 2-for-3 with a game-tying home run off Johnny Cueto.
He also played for Team USA in the 2017 World Baseball Classic and hit .385 (10-for-26) for the tournament champions, including a go-ahead home run in a second-round comeback win over Venezuela en route to being named to the All-World Baseball Classic team.
Hosmer was originally selected by Kansas City in the first round (third overall) of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft out of American Heritage High School (Fla.).
