Adrian Gonzalez: To Trade or Not to Trade?

Padres Problem with the Gold Glove 1st Baseman

There could be much worse situations to confront a baseball team than what the Padres are facing right now, but their unique problem needs to be handled very delicately. The problem that faces the Padres is their All Star, Gold Glove First baseman, Adrian Gonzalez. The problem is not a question of if they trade him, but one of when. There are many people that feel very strongly that Adrian needs to stay a part of the team for his career and that they should build a team around Adrian. There are others that see the more realistic solution of offing him to another team and robbing them blind in prospects. There is still another group that sees Adrian as being able to get some proven talent and a few prospects. No matter what route the Padres take in solving this, there are several different intricacies to the solution. The fact that the Padres have left Adrian off of all their publication materials for next season does not bode well for fans that wish to keep the star slugger. There are other signs that prophesy the end to an Adrian era in San Diego, but what should the Friars do?

With two years left on Adrian's discount contract, now is the time to start thinking about a trade. If the Padres wait too long, they may find that many teams will not be willing to pay the price for a "rental" on one of the best corner infielders in the game. If they wait until the July 31^st trade deadline, he may have a bad season. Adrian has been a historically slow starter. The first half is not his strongpoint and he needs to play at least until June before he will heat up. The problem with that is that his numbers will be greatly deflated, driving his value through the floor. Another problem that the Friars are faced with is the fall out from trading a fan favorite that has become the face of the franchise. If they can not get a dynamic trade that proves to be one of the best deals ever made in baseball history, fans from both sides of the border will be demanding the heads of the new owner and his new GM as well. So what are they to do?