Padres close to extension with Wil Myers

The San Diego Padres are close to a long-term extension with All-Star Wil Myers.

In a bad week for San Diego sports fans, there is some good news on the horizon. All-Star first baseman Wil Myers is close to a six-year extension with the team according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The deal would cover three years of arbitration and three years of free agency for Myers.

The 2013 AL Rookie of the Year, Myers, was finally able to put together a full, healthy season in the big leagues for the first time in 2016. He made the All-Star team after batting .286/.351/.522 before the break with 19 homers, 60 RBIs, and 15 steals. Myers fell off in the second half, slumping to a .223/.316/.381 line with only nine home runs and a rising strikeout rate.

Putting up consistent numbers for an entire season is still a big hurdle for Myers. In 2016, he had two months with an OPS below .700 and one month below .600. The extension would become the biggest contract in franchise history for the Padres. With the exit of the Chargers, San Diego will be forced to put all of its sports hopes in the Padres basket, and Myers will be the face of the franchise.

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For the past four years, Myers has been tantalizingly close to taking the next step and becoming a true MLB superstar. It is an interesting time now for the Padres to pursue an extension in his first year of arbitration. Most team-friendly extensions that have gotten done in baseball in recent years have not approached $80 million unless the player is a transcendent star like Mike Trout. If Myers can become a consistent 30-30 threat, the contract will look like a bargain, but he could just as easily continue to be plagued by injuries and inconsistency.