Kansas City Royals Rumors: Eric Hosmer meets with Padres

The Padres took a step forward in their pursuit of Kansas City Royals star Eric Hosmer. A meeting between the two parties reportedly took place on Thursday.

If you’ve been waiting for the Padres to end their interest in Eric Hosmer, well, you’re going to have to keep waiting. In fact, San Diego’s pursuit of the former Kansas City Royals first baseman reportedly ramped up this week. According to Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Hosmer met face-to-face with representatives from the Padres on Thursday in San Diego.

Lin reports that it marked the first in-person meeting between Hosmer and the Padres. More could take place at the upcoming Winter Meetings. At the very least, it confirms San Diego remains serious about chasing the signature of one of the top free agents on the market.

Does signing Hosmer make sense?

One of the biggest obstacles to a deal now seems to be a non-issue. San Diego’s previous record signing, Wil Myers, played first base for the franchise this past season. The former Kansas City Royals prospect previously signed with the Padres for six years and $83 million. According to previous reporting by Lin, Myers has no problem moving back to a corner outfield position to accommodate Hosmer, whom he played with in the Royals farm system.

It still would seem to be a strange move for San Diego to make. Considering the length of contract Hosmer is expected to receive, it would clearly make more sense for him to end up in the American League, where he can eventually transition into a designated hitter role. Even still, it wouldn’t be the craziest thing for a National League team to sign him.

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However, the Padres fall into a particular category. The Kansas City Royals are also in this category. That category is franchises who absolutely can’t miss on expensive free agent signings. For example, the disastrous deals signed by Alex Gordon and Ian Kennedy have hampered the Royals organization.

Boston — one of the other top suitors of Hosmer — falls into the opposite category. The Red Sox are so flush with cash that missing on free agents (think Pablo Sandoval) doesn’t cripple them.

It would likely take a collapse of Hosmer’s value to see San Diego have a chance to sign him. And in that scenario, the Kansas City Royals would likely become favorites to land the star first baseman.

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What do you think? Does San Diego seem like a good fit for Hosmer? Will his price tag eventually become too much for the Padres? Let us know your thoughts.