SAN DIEGO (AP) — The San Diego Padres have exercised their $5.9 million option on All-Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez for 2011.
Next season is the final year of Gonzalez's team-friendly $9.5 million, four-year contract.
The slugger, who grew up in the San Diego area and was the No. 1 overall pick by Florida in the 2000 amateur draft, might be too expensive for the Padres to keep. He was obtained in a trade with Texas before the 2006 season and has blossomed into one of the game's best first basemen.
Gonzalez, a two-time Gold Glove Award winner, hit .298 with 31 homers and 101 RBIs.
Padres general manager Jed Hoyer said at the end of last season that if Gonzalez wants Mark Teixeira or Ryan Howard money, "that's not something we're going to be able to do."
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.
