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2013 Jedd Gyorko Must Return For The Padres

(Photo via )

The Padres infield is not good. They don’t hit, and they don’t play defense, and even the additions this winter (Will Middlebrooks, Clint Barmes) don’t necessarily make the infield significantly better. So, barring a trade before Opening Day, the Friars are going into 2015 with an infield that needs an internal boost.

Enter 2013 Jedd Gyorko. I know you probably remember 2014 Jedd Gyorko more, so let me tell you about the ’13 version. You would’ve loved him. He hit 26 doubles and 23 home runs, batting .249/.301/.444 in 525 plate appearances. He finished 6th in Rookie of the Year voting, had an OPS+ of 113, and finished the season at 2.2 WAR, good enough for fifth on the club. What a rookie!

Sure, 2013 Jedd Gyorko had a 23.4% strikeout rate, but he was seeing big league pitching for the first time, and remember, he clubbed 23 homers playing his home games in cavernous Petco Park! Best of all, the Padres (who would finish ten games under .500 at 76-86) went 60-63 in his starts. There’s no doubt 2013 Jedd Gyorko made the team better.

And then, we met 2014 Jedd Gyorko. This version of Gyorko cut down his strikeout rate (slightly) to 22.6%, but that’s about the only thing he improved on from 2013’s campaign. 2014 Jedd Gyorko only hit .210/.280/.333 in 443 PAs, only launched 10 home runs, and earned a net negative WAR (-0.5) and dWAR (-0.8).

2014 Jedd Gyorko also missed time with plantar fasciitis in his left foot which, granted, may have impacted the majority of his season; he hit .162/.213/.270 in 59 games before going on the disabled list and missing six weeks. When he returned, he raised his average by 50 points and his on-base percentage by 70 more. Even with the injury, though, 2014 Jedd Gyorko was a shell of his rookie predecessor.

So what will 2015 Jedd Gyorko be like?

The Padres need Jedd Gyorko to bounce back. [Image via @BaseballU_S_A]

The Padres need Jedd Gyorko to bounce back. [Image via @BaseballU_S_A]

For any everyday player, health is a big deal. When Gyorko returned from the DL last season, he improved markedly, and in some ways went back to the hitter he had been his rookie year (though his power numbers didn’t return). Gyorko, and the Padres, are eager for him to be fully healthy in 2015 so he can produce what they expect of him at second base.

But are everyday starters in the big leagues ever fully healthy? Gyorko’s no baby, but surely he knows, as do the Padres, that aches and pains are a fact of life when you start every day in the big leagues. Sure, plantar fasciitis serious enough to send Gyorko to the DL goes above and beyond the general aches of playing baseball, but no everyday infielder will ever be completely healthy; something will always be nagging. Baseball is a grind; teams play 162 games in about 180 days. It’s not easy on the body, and it’s not meant to be.

Gyorko hasn’t excused his poor 2014 on injuries, and there’s nothing in his past to indicate he’d baby an injury or be hesitant to return from a health problem in the future. But his sophomore season was a test: how well can you play through pain?

If it gets bad enough (and for 2014 Jedd Gyorko, it did), a trip to the disabled list is necessary. But as long as you’re on the field, no matter how your body feels, you have to produce. And in 2014, he was on the field – and not producing – for a long time before his DL stint. Such is the nature of the big leagues, especially on a team that will have as high expectations as the Padres this year.

Many rookies regress as the league adjusts to them in their second year; Gyorko is certainly not an outlier there. And, with the injury hampering him all year, Gyorko dealt with sophomore year problems that other players may not. But for 2015, it’s imperative Gyorko figure out how to be effective playing with aches and pains.

Hopefully, he won’t be injured seriously enough to land on the disabled list, but he undoubtedly will feel general malaise from the grind of playing every day. And when that happens, will we see 2015 Jedd Gyorko adjust to produce on the field, or falter and fail to give the Padres a quality bat or glove at second base? Based on the rest of the infield, the Padres must have 2013 Jedd Gyorko back to help anchor their lineup.

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7 Comments

  1. nick

    March 17, 2015 at 7:15 am

    Albert Pujols was greatly affected by Plantar Fasciatis. I also would like to add that the Padres really messed with Gyorko’s approach at the plate. Chicago did the same thing with Starlin Castro in 2013 and it did not work out very well. This blunder with Gyorko has a lot to do with the decision to change Gyorko’s approach at the plate. Sometimes the FO’s need to step out and let these players do the playing. In the end Gyorko is the one battling for an opening day starting roll after the rookie season he put up offensively FROM SECOND BASE!!! Why even mess with the approach of a 24 year old that had done nothing but hit his entire career AFTER PUTTING UP 26 doubles, 22 homeruns and a decent BA of .249?? This Gyorko situation is in large part due to the FO.

    • Bobby DeMuro

      March 17, 2015 at 9:59 am

      Great point on the FO. And with a new front office in Preller, maybe the BS ends with Gyorko. Or, maybe, he gets replaced seeing how willing Preller is to move folks (haha) but JG can’t have another year like last year, or he’s a goner.

      • nick

        March 17, 2015 at 9:44 pm

        Maybe they will trade Gyorko?? I would just hate to see Gyorko not fulfil his potential. He really looked like he could be an offensive monster at second base. I think he will rebound and have a similar season as he did in 2013 IF they give him some time to swing his way out of it. He has too much natural hitting ability. I think it is just a question if the FO will give him the time to sort it out if he is having issues.

        • Bobby DeMuro

          March 17, 2015 at 10:15 pm

          A trade would be interesting. I feel like they’d want him to play well for at least a couple weeks to reclaim value so they can get a better trade piece maybe? But, it also depends on guys like Hector Olivera or any other free agent signing too — hell, I even argued earlier they could use Alex Guerrero at second, and he’ll probably hit better than Gyorko: http://www.calisportsnews.com/alex-guerrero-padres-match-made-heaven/

          I agree with you that Gyorko has value, esp in that bad infield the Padres have, I just don’t know if they will give him that much time to sort out issues if he starts the year hitting .180 again, you know?

          • nick

            March 18, 2015 at 6:35 am

            Makes sense. If that Guerrero kid gets a season worth of at bats somewhere he could really put some numbers up too. I think if he starts hitting .180 as you said he gets benched.

  2. ginadblasck

    December 15, 2015 at 7:23 pm

    Oh, agreed.

  3. janetjtillery

    December 21, 2015 at 10:36 am

    Thank you Teej!

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