Agent: Adrian Gonzalez will test market after 2011

John Boggs, the agent for Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, told The Associated Press that it is “pretty much a fait accompli” that his client will test the free agent market following the 2011 season. Earlier in the week, the Padres exercised a $6.2 million option on Gonzalez for the 2011 season, in what will be the final season of one of the most team-friendly contracts in baseball.

The 28-year-old turned in his third straight All-Star campaign in 2010, hitting .298/.393/.511/.904 with 31 homers and 101 RBI, helping to lead the Padres within one game of the San Francisco Giants in the NL West. According to The Associated Press, Padres GM Jed Hoyer said that San Diego would not be in a position to work out a multi-year deal with Gonzalez along the lines of either the eight-year, $180 million deal that Mark Teixeira signed with the Yankees or the five-year, $125 million extension to which the Phillies signed Ryan Howard, starting in the 2012 season.

From the AP story:

Hoyer says the type of contract Gonzalez will seek in free agency is something that only a handful of markets can support, “and San Diego is not one of them.”

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