The San Diego Padres are going to be a fascinating team to watch this offseason.
San Diego won 90 games this season, good for second place in the National League West. The Padres were one of just five teams that were able to win 90 games or more in the National League. But there have been questions about the team’s finances over the last few years. The Padres still were able to shine, but have lost some significant talent over the last few seasons, including Blake Snell, Josh Hader, and Juan Soto.
Now, there is at least some buzz out there about the possibility of the team trading away another star: Fernando Tatis Jr. USA Today MLB insider Bob Nightengale shared a list of a handful of guys who could be traded this offseason and surprisingly mentioned Tatis.
“San Diego Padres All-Star right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr.: They certainly don’t want to trade him, and still may not listen now, but with all of their bloated and back-loaded contracts, someone is going to eventually have to depart,” Nightengale wrote. “And no one making big money has more trade value than Tatis, whose 14-year, $340 million contract suddenly looks rather reasonable.”
Trading Tatis would be a big blow for the Padres. He inked a 14-year, $340 million deal with San Diego and is under contract through the 2034 season. Tatis is just 26 years old and is a three-time All-Star, two-time Gold Glove Award winner, and a significant threat in the middle of the order.
If the Padres were to make a move like this, it would be a bad sign for the Padres’ short-term future.
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