Greene wants to stay with Padres
By: DAN HAYES - Staff Writer | ∞
PEORIA, Ariz. -- Answering concerns that he plans to leave the team in two years, shortstop Khalil Greene says he'd like to play his entire career with the Padres.
Greene arrived early in Padres camp Monday, having recently signed a two-year $11 million contract that merely covers the final two season in which he isn't eligible for free agency. By not reaching a longer deal that would have bought out at least his first year of free agency, Greene had the Padres worried that he wanted out of San Diego at the first available opportunity -- after the 2009 season.
But Green, who established career highs in home runs (27) and RBIs (97) in 2007, said he is willing to entertain a long-term offer from the club.
"I don't want to go anywhere," he said. "Ideally, I can stay here for the rest of my career as a baseball player. There's nowhere else I would really rather play than San Diego."
That was hardly the talk around town in mid-January, when Greene and the Padres appeared to be headed for arbitration and general manager Kevin Towers wondered aloud if the shortstop wanted to play closer to his South Carolina home.
Coupled with his public dislike of hitting at spacious Petco Park -- he's a .230 hitter in 271 career home games -- it seemed unlikely that Greene wanted to stay.
But Greene, 28, made it clear he's happy in San Diego -- big park or not.
"There is nowhere else that I can say it's the place I want to play," Greene said. "It's not like there's a team close to where I live. Once I leave my own home, that's (San Diego) where you live and stay. I've enjoyed my time there. ... If I would say one thing that's been frustrating is the sheer size of the ballpark. From a defensive end of it, for me, it's the best defensive ballpark in all of baseball. I weigh all of those things. It definitely is a place I want to stay."
General manager Kevin Towers was pleased to hear the news, but said the Padres would likely wait until after 2008 to resume contract talks with Greene.
"We have a lengthy history with this guy," Towers said of the Padres' 2002 first-round draft pick. "We've been able to avoid the arbitration process this year and next year, which is big, and it gives us another two years to talk about a contract beyond '09. That's good news to hear he wants to stay here. ... I imagine we'll talk again this winter."
If Greene can replicate 2007, when he was voted the team's most valuable player, those talks will likely become more fruitful. Prior to last year, injuries prevented Greene from playing a full season. He was sidelined for 105 games over three years and averaged 15 homers a season over that period.
"It's just a matter of getting something to be what would be fair," Greene said. "It's not something where I'm looking to get more than I'm worth or that I'm trying to get more money. It's hard to look at it ... that you deserve this, you deserve that."
-- Contact staff writer Dan Hayes at dhayes@nctimes.com.
First name only. Comments including last names, contact addresses, e-mail addresses or phone numbers will be deleted. Attempts to misrepresent your identity or impersonate any person will not be approved. All comments are screened before they appear online, so please keep them brief. Comments reflect the views of those commenting and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff writers. Click here to view additional comment policies.
Advertisement