The Padres have reached an agreement with Free Agent outfielder/first-baseman Brad Hawpe on a one-year deal according to Bernie Wilson of the AP (via The Miami Herald). The deal is pending a physical.

Hawpe, 31, will replace All-Star slugger Adrian Gonzalez at first base. Hawpe, who declined arbitration from the Rays, will not cost the Padres a draft pick. Last year Hawpe struggled splitting time between Tampa bay and Colorado, hitting a career low (.245/.338/.419) line with 32 extra base hits. Despite his disappointing season, Hawpe has had very consistent numbers across the board that are very attractive despite last years mediocre performance.

He plays very well outside of Coors field hitting, (.273 .369 .470) and has been good with RISP (.266 .388 .468), and more importantly excelled in Petco Park hitting (.281 .371 .451). Hawpe is a career (.279 .373 .490) hitter. Career verses lefties: (245 .322 .438) Career verses righties: (.288 .386 .504). One of Brad Hawpe's most appealing stats is his home and away splits. Players in Colorado, (historically speaking) have always had extreme offensive splits playing at home verses on the road, being as Colorado has been one of the better hitting parks in baseball. This historically speaking has not affected Hawpe. Career at home: (.285 .377 .509) Career away: (.273 .369 .470).

Maybe the most shocking stat is Hawpe in his career has exactly the same amount of home runs at home playing in Coors field's hitters paradise in Colorado as he has had away (60), a total of 120 home runs in his career thus far. He has been very consistent and had (maybe more importantly) success in the NL West Division. His career average in Petco park: (.281 .371 .451) Dodger stadium: (.361 .436 .646) AT&T park: (.217 .356 .396) Chase field: (223 .353 .424) Coors field: (.286 .378 .513). Obviously these stat crunching type numbers came into play when Jed Hoyer and the front office brass were considering any player that would come to Petco park to replace Adrian Gonzalez.

Out of all the options that were bantered about in the off season throughout the rumor mill such as, Derek Lee, Adam LaRoche, Russell Branyan and Jorge Cantu. Hawpe, an All-Star in '09, could be the best considering all the intangibles such as, his aforementioned home and away splits, hitting against lefties and righties, hitting well within the division and or course financially. While Hawpe has only started in 8 MLB games at first base, he does have the experience, and considering his below average defense in the outfield (minus his cannon arm) he is probably much better suited at first as oppose to the outfield. He was blocked by Todd Helton at first base in Colorado, eventually forcing the Rockies management to put Hawpe in the outfield to get his bat in the lineup.

Hawpe would also be a viable option if any of the current Padre outfielders struggle or get injured which is not uncommon. With Kyle Blanks coming off Tommy John surgery, he will likely start the season in AAA along side newly acquired Anthony Rizzo, coming over in the Gonzalez deal. Both players will split time, my guess is Blanks and Rizzo could split time at first base and both could DH, while Blanks could still conceivably see another opportunity in the outfield. I believe he will be physically ready come opening day if not sooner. However, the Padres do want to ease him back in, making sure the big man is healthy and to regain some of his confidence at the AAA level before relying on him to produce as a clean up hitter in the big leagues.

While Hawpe has primarily been an outfielder in the Major Leagues, he has played considerable amount of time at first base in the minors along with his time playing first base in College at LSU. He was part of the LSU National Championship team in 2000 and played first base. He was the minor league player of the year while playing first base. According tho Baseball America in 2003, "He’s average at best as a first baseman and is a below-average runner, which will make playing left field more of a challenge." Brad Hawpe's average home run distance last year was 396.9 ft. Adrian Gonzalez's for comparison was 393.3 ft. Hawpe's average home run distance has been farther than Adrian's in his career, 2006-2010. Having said that, playing the majority of games in Coors field has obviously played a factor in that equation.

The Baseball Cube:

SB-Nation scouting report: 

Owns a smooth power stroke that generates a lot of doubles and good home-run & RBI totals. Does a nice job working the count and takes walks. Bats for a solid average for a power hitter. Has a strong outfield arm.

Strikes out far too much. Can be streaky and prone to extended slumps. Like many lefty batters, he isn't nearly as good against lefty pitching. Isn't a good base-runner at all.

HitTracker: