Adrian Gonzalez 2010

Gonzalez' status in San Diego was thrown into question early in spring training when his agent made it clear there would be no more team-friendly deals and that Gonzalez would be seeking a contract in the Mark Teixeira range (8 years, 180 million) when he reached free agency. That demand, far too rich for the Padres' blood, sparked immediate speculation that Gonzalez would be available at the trade deadline . . . and, once again, the Red Sox lined up to make their bid. In fact, it was thought the one-year deal they signed with Adrian Beltre was to use him as a place-holder for Gonzalez; if they acquired Gonzo, they would dump Beltre and move Kevin Youkilis to third.

But San Diego had just hired ex-Red Sox executive Jed Hoyer as GM and Hoyer was sensitive to the perception that he was out to help his old team, making a deal with Boston less likely. Then the Padres surprised the baseball world by jumping out to, and holding, the N.L. West lead for a good portion of the year, making it impossible for them to trade Gonzalez. When Gonzo underwent shoulder surgery at the end of the season, with rumors spreading that he wouldn't be ready for the start of spring training, it seemed a potential trade would be put off until at least the 2011 trade deadline.

In the last few weeks, however, the Padres changed their minds.

2010 STATISTICS

GAMES: 160
AT-BATS: 591
RUNS: 87
HITS:176
DOUBLES: 33
TRIPLES: 0
HOME RUNS: 31
RBI: 101
WALKS: 93
STRIKEOUTS: 114
BATTINGAVERAGE: .298
ON-BASE PERCENTAGE: .393
SLUGGING PERCENTAGE:.511
OPS:.904
OPS : 152
SALARY: 4.875 million

Stats courtesy baseball-reference.com.Photos courtesy of AP Images.

ADRIAN GONZALEZ, YEAR-BY-YEAR