Some recent rumors have stated that the San Diego Padres may trade Fernando Tatis Jr. after the Padres failed to make the playoffs. Many of those have included speculation of an American League team being interested. More specifically, the Boston Red Sox.
The Padres are coming off of a very disappointing season. A season in which they were expected to be World Series contenders, but faltered to just 82-80. Some have said that the Padres need to make a trade, due to being over salary cap. They had to take out that loan, but part of that is because 1) they did miss the playoffs and 2) they lost revenue from Bally Sports right before the season. Any franchise would have to take out a loan after losing money like that.
Tatis is not the problem in San Diego. Yes, he is coming off of the PED Suspension but looking at his statistics the Padres won five games more with him in the lineup. The 24-year-old slashed .257/.322/.449 with 33 2Bs, 1 3B and 25 Home Runs. The Padres have asked Tatis to switch to right field with the addition of Xander Bogaerts. He did just and won a Gold Glove in his first full season there. Not only did he win the Gold, but also the Platinum. He’s an elite defender with 30-30 potential on offense.
Fernando Tatis has not been the only one with trade rumors swirling, teammate Juan Soto has as well. However, Padres GM A.J. Preller might have shut those down.
“A player like that is always in your plans,” Preller said. “Obviously that’s the offseason. We’ll get to the next couple of weeks and continue conversations with (agent Scott Boras) and Juan and get a sense of where he’s at, for what it means down the road for San Diego in terms of a contract. And then also, we understand the value of Juan playing for us next year on a contract year. So having his bat in the lineup is important.”
The Padres’ goal seems clear, they still want to win. Giving it one more go, before tearing it down seems likely. There has been no urgency to make any trades, nor should there be. They have one of the best rosters in all of baseball. The PED suspension shouldn’t be an issue heading into the 2024 season. His teammates and the fans have forgiven him. The young superstar has a no-trade clause until 2028.
The Padres are in no need of shedding of salary, they just need to make the playoffs and figure out a new TV deal. The statement that they need to move one of their stars because of the loan is bogus. The Padres still need the energy from Tatis in their lineup.
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