Report: Eric Hosmer Declines to Waive No-Trade Clause in Juan Soto Padres-Nats Deal

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San Diego Padres general manager A.J. Preller is still busy making trades, but his biggest one yet won’t involve Eric Hosmer.

Per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, Hosmer invoked his no-trade clause to reject a deal that would have sent him to the Washington Nationals as part of the package sending Juan Soto and Josh Bell back to San Diego.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan provided details of the trade:

Jim Bowden of CBS Sports HQ did note the deal between Washington and San Diego doesn’t hinge on Hosmer’s approval.

After the Padres acquired Adam Frazier from the Pittsburgh Pirates during the 2021 season, rumblings about Hosmer’s future with the organization began to circulate.

Ken Rosenthal and Dennis Lin of The Athletic reported on July 26 that the 32-year-old’s “name has surfaced in recent trade discussions.”

Instead, the Padres held on to Hosmer for the rest of the season. Frazier wound up getting traded to the Seattle Mariners on Nov. 27.

There are a number of reasons for the Padres to explore trading the four-time Gold Glove winner. He has never been a consistent hitter, especially in the power department. He ranked 22nd out of 26 qualified first basemen in slugging percentage (.395) and 24th in FanGraphs wins above replacement (0.0) during the 2021 season.

So far in 2022, Hosmer ranks 21st out of 26 qualified first baseman in FanGraphs’ WAR (0.4) and 24th in slugging percentage (.391).

There was speculation leading up to the start of this season that the Padres and New York Mets were deep in talks about a deal involving Hosmer.

Per SNY’s Andy Martino, the Padres were going to deal Hosmer, Chris Paddack and Emilio Pagan to the Mets in exchange for Dominic Smith. San Diego would also send $25-30 million to the Mets to cover a portion of Hosmer’s remaining salary.

The deal never materialized, with Martino noting the Mets ultimately decided they didn’t want to go through with it.

After a fast start this season, Hosmer has settled right back in where he has been throughout his career. The four-time Gold Glove winner is hitting .272/.336/.391 with eight homers and 40 RBI in 90 games.

Hosmer was supposed to be a key part of San Diego’s rebuild when he signed an eight-year, $144 million contract with the team as a free agent in February 2018. He’s owed $20 million in 2022 and $13 million in each season from 2023-24. The deal does include an opt-out after the 2022 campaign.

Moving Hosmer now would give him the opportunity for a fresh start with a new organization. The Padres seem to have a large amount of financial flexibility with the addition of Soto and Bell to their roster that already ranks fifth in MLB in payroll spending ($221.3 million).

Hosmer’s actual performance has rarely matched his reputation, especially based on the contract he originally signed with the Padres four years ago. He’s only been worth at least one win above replacement four times in 11 seasons, per FanGraphs.

When the Padres signed Hosmer, it was the first indication that things were going to start being different for the franchise. They have since become one of the most aggressive teams in MLB when it comes to trades and signings.

Now that the Padres appear to be ready to join the NL hierarchy, Hosmer suddenly finds himself as the odd man out and potentially on his way to a new team before the trade deadline strikes.