The San Diego Padres are gearing up for yet another important offseason. After their campaign ended on a sour note in the Wild Card round, San Diego is expected to go big in the offseason. However, they don't have a lot of freedom in terms of money.
That begs the question: will the Padres trade one of their players to free up space and improve the team? That's certainly a possibility. What's intriguing, though, is what the Padres will do with Fernando Tatis Jr. Bob Nightengale reports that the Padres are reluctant to trade Tatis for obvious reasons, but that he's also their most appealing trade chip.
“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. And no one making big money has more trade value than Tatis, whose 14-year, $340 million contract suddenly looks rather reasonable.”
Tatis is fresh off winning the 2025 NL Platinum Glove Award. The former shortstop moved to right field a few years ago, yielding great success for the Padres. He's led the National League in defensive runs saved with +42 DRS, and led all outfielders as well this season with +15 DRS.
The right fielder's defense, combined with his elite hitting (.814 OPS last season with 25 home runs), makes him a crucial piece for the Padres' future. A trade including the star right fielder is unlikely. With San Diego's pitcher needs, though, they'll need to make room for a marquee name. Who that inevitable casualty is, we don't know yet.
