The San Diego Padres want Wil Myers to be part of their future.
Speaking with reporters Wednesday on the third day of the GM meetings, Padres general manager A.J. Preller said he plans to sit down with the 25-year-old first baseman's agent later this week to start exploring a contract extension, according to Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union Tribune.
"(We'll) get the ball rolling," Preller told MLB.com's AJ Cassavell.
Acquired by San Diego in a three-team trade following the 2013 season, Myers stumbled through an injury-riddled first year with the Padres, but enjoyed the finest campaign of his young career in 2016, posting career highs in WAR (3.8), games played (157), home runs (28), and stolen bases (28) while earning his first All-Star nomination. He was a Gold Glove finalist, too, in his first full season as a first baseman, having spent virtually his entire professional career in the outfield prior to 2016.
Myers, who was named American League Rookie of the Year in 2013 after smashing 13 homers with an .831 OPS in 88 games with the Tampa Bay Rays, is eligible for arbitration this winter for the first time in his career, and remains under team control through the 2019 campaign.