The Padres might be a weak team overall, but, they have one of the very best firstbasemen in all of baseball. 26-year old lefty swinging Adrian Gonzalez put up monster numbers last season despite playing half of his games at Petco Field and not having much protection in the batting order. Gonzalez played in all 162 games for the Padres last season and he was 172 for 616 (.279 avg, .871 OPS) with 103 runs scored, 36 homers and 119 RBIs. He also is an outstanding defender as he only made 6 errors in 161 games at first base for the Padres last year. He is one of the very best players in baseball and he could even be better in 2009 for the Padres.

36-year old lefty swinging Cliff Floyd could probably fill in for Gonzalez if the team got in a pinch. He played in 80 games for the Rays last season and he was 66 for 246 (.268 avg, .804 OPS) with 32 runs scored, 11 homers and 39 RBIs. Floyd did not play 1B at all last season for the Rays and he would be a huge downgrade defensively if he had to replace Gonzalez for any reason.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON: A

The Padres have invited 32-year old righty starting pitcher Walter Silva to spring training. Silva started 21 games for Monterrey of the Mexican League last season and he was 7-8 with a 4.21 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. He will have a chance to make the Padres’ starting rotation in 2009 as it is pretty weak on the back end.

The Padres have signed 34-year old righty swinging outfielder Emil Brown to a minor league deal. Brown played in 117 games for the A’s last season and he was 98 for 402 (.244 avg, .683 OPS) with 48 runs scored, 13 homers and 59 RBIs. He has now played in 736 games in his major league career in which he is 580 for 2,244 (.258 avg, .721 OPS) with 296 runs scored, 59 homers, 326 RBIs and 52 stolen bases. This was a good signing for the Padres as Brown is a decent player.

The Padres have traded 23-year old righty Matt Bush to the Blue Jays for a player to be named later. Bush did not pitch last season as he was recovering from Tommy John Surgery. The former first round pick of the Padres switched positions prior to 2007 to take advantage of his strong arm. He pitched in 7 games (Rookie + A-ball) in which he was 1-0 with a 1.17 ERA. He allowed only 5 hits while whiffing 16 batters in 7.2 innings that year. The Padres just couldn’t wait any longer for Bush and they probably won’t miss him much down the road.

The Padres have a collection of catchers that are better fielders than hitters. That might be good for the pitching staff, but, it will hurt the offense. 25-year old righty swinging Nick Hundley goes to spring training as the starter. He played in 60 games for the Padres last season and he was 47 for 198 (.237 avg, .637 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 5 homers and 24 RBIs. But, Hundley looked overmatched often as he whiffed 52 times last season. He also played in 58 AAA games last season in which he was 52 for 224 (.232 avg, .736 OPS) with 33 runs scored, 12 homers and 39 RBIs. Hundley caught 13 of 55 (24%) runners who tried to steal on him. The Padres hope he improves a bit in that area. Padres’ pitchers had a 4.76 ERA with Hundley behind the plate.

37-year old righty swinging Henry Blanco will be the backup this season for the Padres. He played in 58 games for the Cubs last season and he was 35 for 120 (.292 avg, .717 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 3 homers and 12 RBIs. Don’t expect Blanco to hit like that again in 2009 as he has a career .227 batting average with a .653 OPS). But, defense is the name of his game as he nailed 9 of 21 (43%) runners trying to steal on him. Cubs’ pitchers had a 3.91 ERA with Blanco behind the plate so pitchers like throwing to him.

30-year old righty Eliezer Alfonzo is the darkhorse for playing time if Hundley isn’t ready for the full time job in 2009. He played in 5 games for the Giants last season and he was 1 for 11 (.091 avg, .182 OPS) with 1 RBI. He also played in 56 games in A+AA+AAA ball last season and he was 68 for 212 (.321 avg) with 26 runs scored, 8 homers and 45 RBIs. Alfonzo was unsuccessful throwing out runners as all three that tried made it against him for the Giants. Giants’ pitchers had a 5.29 ERA with Alfonzo behind the plate last season. Alfonzo has already been suspended once by major league baseball for using performance enhancing drugs so he better keep clean.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR POSITION IN 2009: D+