Fernando Tatis Jr. is still several months away from being back on the field, but it's never too early to speculate just what position exactly will he be playing once he makes his return to action. President of Baseball Operations AJ Preller was asked about that Tuesday, but even he doesn't also seem to have a clear idea on how things will shake out with regards to Tatis' position next season.

Preller merely said “On the field,” per Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union Tribune.

Fernando Tatis Jr. is versatile enough to play both the shortstop and outfielder positions. But during his absence in the 2022 MLB season, the Padres got solid numbers from shortstop Ha-Seong Kim, who hit .251/.325/.383  while also posting a 3.6 fWAR. He even was a finalist for the Golden Glove award.

Meanwhile, another factor to consider when deciding on which spot on the field will Tatis mostly be assigned to patrol in 2023 will be the future of Jurickson Profar with the Padres. Profar played 85 percent of the time in the left field for the Padres, but he could be leaving the team in the offseason for the free-agent market. Profar has a player option that contains a $1 million buyout for the 2023 MLB season. It must be noted as well that he had the same option before the 2022 season, which, of course, he exercised.

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Preller should have a better understanding of the situation once Fernando Tatis gets 100 percent healthy.

“It’s a question, obviously, (that) is talked about a lot,” Preller said. “I think for right now it’s about just getting him healthy. Those are the conversations that we’ll start having here in the next couple of weeks — with our scouts, our front office group, the baseball operations department, Bob and the staff — and try to get some clarity here going into spring training.”