JAKE CRONENWORTH

• Position(s): First base, second base
• Bats / Throws: Left / Right
• 2025 opening day age: 31
• Height / Weight: 6-foot / 187 pounds
• How acquired: Via trade with the Tampa Bay Rays in December 2019
• Contract status: Will make $11 million in the second year of a seven-year, $80 million extension
• fWAR in 2024: 2.1
• Key 2024 stats: .241 avg., .324 OBP, .390 SLG, 17 HRs, 83 RBIs, 72 runs, 61 walks, 118 strikeouts, 5 steals (155 games, 656 plate appearances)

 

STAT TO NOTE

• .467 — Cronenworth’s OPS in seven postseason games, continuing an end-of-season slide that saw the Padres’ infielder hit .208/.317/.307 (.624 OPS) with three homers over his final 59 games.

 

TRENDING

• Up — The “dragon slayer” signed his extension in April 2023, endured the worst season of his career and missed the final month of the season to a broken bone in his wrist. The money in the new deal, however, did not kick in until 2024 and Cronenworth raced out of the gate, carrying an .858 OPS (.292/.358/.500) through his first 37 games. One reason was Cronenworth was simply hitting the ball harder as his 41% hard-hit rate over that stretch was more than 5 points better than his career average. Cronenworth’s OPS, however, dipped below .800 for good after May 27, his hard-hit rate slipped back to 35% percent over his last 118 games (.666 OPS) and he was eventually dropped to seventh in the lineup to account for both his eroding production and the rise of rookie Jackson Merrill. It should also be noted that while Cronenworth has never hit lefties well (.666 OPS), his 2024 numbers vs. southpaws (.531 OPS) were the worst of his career, leading to more days off as the team juggled his and Luis Arraez’s days off. Cronenworth’s slump was especially pronounced when the postseason began (see stat to note), but he still managed to come up in big spots throughout the season. He walked off a home run, for instance, on June 20 and his blast on Sept. 24 — his last of the year — off Landon Knack gave the Padres a lead over the Dodgers in an eventual win that clinched a postseason berth. Defensively, Cronenworth proved his value throughout the season as he started the year at first base, slid to second when Xander Bogaerts injured his shoulder and moved back to second when Ha-Seong Kim suffered his season-ending injury.

 

2025 OUTLOOK

• The 2024 season was overall a bounce-back, but his end-of-year slide ate into those gains significantly.  Barring a trade, and his name has been mentioned in rumors, Cronenworth will again start on the infield. Which position — first or second base — depends on what the Padres do with their infield after losing Kim to free agency.

 

 

Roster rankings

• 12. RHP Jason Adam
• 13. RHP Joe Musgrove
• 14. Adrián Morejón
• 15. RHP Jeremiah Estrada
• 16. RHP Matt Waldron
• 17. INF Eguy Rosario
• 18. RHP Randy Vásquez
• 19. RHP Bryan Hoeing
• 20. LHP Yuki Matsui
• 21. RHP Sean Reynolds
• 22. C Luis Campusano
• 23. RHP Alek Jacob
• 24. OF Tirso Ornelas
• 25. RHP Ryan Bergert
• 26. RHP Henry Baez
• 27. LHP Omar Cruz
• 28. OF Brandon Lockridge
• 29. LHP Tom Cosgrove
• 30. RHP Stephen Kolek
• 31. RHP Juan Nuñez
• 32. C Brett Sullivan
• 33. UT Tyler Wade
• 34. LHP Wandy Peralta