Jake Cronenworth
The San Diego Padres made a trade on December 6, 2019 to acquire outfielder Tommy Pham from the Tampa Bay Rays, sending outfielder Hunter Renfroe and infielder Xavier Edwards as well as a Player To Be Named Later. They also acquired utility infielder Jacob Cronenworth, presumably as a throw-in player. An infielder and pitcher who had spent five seasons in the Tampa Bay minor league system and had yet to play a major league game.
Cronenworth was all set to go to Spring Training with the Padres and fight for a bench job when March of 2020 became the beginning of the Covid-19 lockdown. Invited to San Diego to work out at Petco as part of the Padres Covid camp, Cronenworth was eventually included on the roster when MLB began playing games in July of 2020 under strict pandemic guidelines.
As a career-long two-way player in the Rays system, Cronenworth threw some bullpen sessions during Covid camp, but was eventually told he would just be a position player for the Padres. With Manny Machado manning third base, Fernando Tatis Jr. playing shortstop, Jurickson Profar slotted as the second baseman and Eric Hosmer the starting first baseman, it was clear he would share utility duties with Greg Garcia to start the season.
Cronenworth was known from the start of his professional career as Jake, but he has always privately gone by Jacob, even to his teammates. Whenever a player discusses him with the media or mentions him, he is called Jacob. When asked about the name, Cronenworth has always said either is fine with him, but Jacob has always been his name with those who know him. See Annie Heilbrunn’s 2023 interview with Cronenworth for a great overview of his baseball career and life highlights.
After making his debut in July of 2020, Cronenworth played well as a utility infielder and eventually became the first baseman when Hosmer went on the IL with an injury. He played 10 games at first, 38 games at second base, one game at third base and 11 games at shortstop. He hit his first grand slam in August of 2020 during the Slam Diego onslaught when the team had five grand slams in six games.
In 2021, Cronenworth hit for the cycle July 16 and was the third Padre to do so. He followed Matt Kemp and Wil Myers and is that last Padre to do the deed. Cronenworth was also named to the All-Star team in 2021. He hit 21 homers with 71 RBI in his first full season, while playing 24 games at first base, 94 games at second base and 41 games at shortstop.
During the 2022 season, Cronenworth hit another grand slam. He played most of his games as the primary second baseman and achieved his second selection to the All-Star game. He filled in at first base and shortstop as needed. He will probably be best remembered for getting the game-winning hit in the NLDS versus the Los Angeles Dodgers that took the team to the NLCS. His picture highlighted the DRAGON SLAYER headline in the San Diego Union-Tribune the next day.
The 2023 season began with Cronenworth signing a seven-year contract extension on April 1. It committed him to the Padres through the 2030 season for $80 million over the length of the contract. He was also the primary first baseman that season with 106 games played despite suffering a fractured wrist in August after being hit by a pitch. He was reinstated on Oct. 2 and added back onto the roster. Cronenworth also played 35 games at first base in 2023.
Cronenworth came back from his injury-shortened season as the player who had to split time between second base and first base in order to allow other members of the team to play in the line up and accommodate the best defensive alignments. This was Cronenworth’s worst season as a Padre. He ended with a .229 average and .689 OPS. There was speculation that the Padres were trying to dump him and his contract on the trade market after the season. Many fans felt his previous success was short-lived and it was time to move on.
In 2024, Cronenworth split his time between second and first base again. Xander Bogarts began the year at second base, while Ha-Seong Kim was the primary shortstop, but that changed when Kim was injured and Bogaerts again resumed primary shortstop duties. At that point, Cronenworth was again the primary second baseman. He played 85 games at first base and 7o games at second base, while hitting .241 with a .714 OPS. He hit his third grand slam of his career in May of 2024. During the offseason, there were discussions regarding the possibility of trading Cronenworth to free up payroll money and get value while he was still considered a decent player.
Once again, the Padres kept Cronenworth on the roster. Although this has not been his best season offensively, Cronenworth has the highest OBP on the team at .371. And although he has committed the most errors of his career (10) this season, he assumed the responsibility of playing shortstop when Xander Bogaerts broke his foot and was flawless during Bogaerts’ absence.
There are multiple areas of any ballpark commonly referred to as the Crone Zone by the local baseball media. The television duo of Don Orsillo and Mark Grant often refer to the right field bleachers as the Crone Zone due to Cronenworth hitting most of his home runs to the pull side. The right side of the infield is also the Crone Zone, where we see most of his stellar defensive work take place.
The
metrics tell you that Cronenworth is an average to slightly below average offensive player this season. His defense runs around the same using the modern metrics. But where he stands out is his plate discipline. The eye test also tells you that Cronenworth has elite skills at taking good at-bats. He often fouls off multiple pitches, works a walk or even gets hit by a pitch. His .250 average this year is the third best of his career with his .757 OPS also the third best. He has 60 RBI and 11 home runs, his fourth best for his six seasons. But what can’t be quantified is what manager Mike Shildt refers to as grit. Cronenworth is probably the player on the Padres that best represents that grit. No matter if he is contributing with the bat or not, he always shows up for the team and does whatever is asked of him, to the best of his ability.
He won’t win an MVP or any other major awards. He won’t go to the Hall of Fame, but Cronenworth passed Roberto Alomar this year for most games started at second base in the history of the Padres franchise on July 24 (431).
Cronenworth suffered a rib fracture this year, also from a hit-by-pitch, and came back wearing double padding on his rib cage so that he could play his position and hit.
Statistically, his best position is second base, but he is not detrimental to the team when playing first base or shortstop. Despite his career high errors this season, Cronenworth has shown the ability to cover a lot of ground at second as well as good speed going back on medium fly balls to the outfield.
The desire by some to trade Cronenworth every offseason could continue, but the manager of the Padres has repeatedly voiced the opinion that Cronenworth is the most under appreciated of all his players and I have to agree with him. Cronenworth is an asset to the Padres and an integral part of the Padres’ current winning culture.
