ORLANDO, Fla. -- On the set of MLB Network at the 2018 Winter Meetings, Padres general manager A.J. Preller was asked about Fernando Tatis Jr., who back then was a top prospect on the verge of breaking into the big leagues. Would he ever consider trading Tatis? Yes, Preller famously said …
“If someone wants to give us two Tatises.”
Seven years later, the sentiment holds. Yes, the Padres will listen when other teams call about Tatis, because it would be negligent for Preller to hang up the phone. And, yes, they have been called.
But Preller, who rarely speaks candidly about specific players and trade rumors, addressed the speculation surrounding Tatis on Wednesday, the final day of the Winter Meetings. As far as the possibility of a trade, Preller said: “He’s somebody that we’re not talking about.”
“I’ve seen the reports on Tatis and things like that,” Preller said. “Tatis is one of the best players in baseball. We believe he’s one of the top guys in baseball, a two-time Platinum [Glove] winner. He’s a guy that’s taken over portions of seasons and games and playoff series. For us to get to where we want to get to, we need Fernando.”
Generally speaking, Preller has always been reluctant to use the word “untouchable.” Asked on MLB Network this week if any of his players were untouchable, he demurred. He was asked again on Wednesday, specifically about Tatis, and once again couched his response.
“He’s somebody that we’re not talking about [trading],” Preller said. “However you want to view that -- if you want to say that’s untouchable, you can say that.”
Preller added: “Every one of the whiteboards and the different versions of the team and roster that we put up there, it’s with 'Tati' right in the middle as hopefully one of the top players on our team.”
So, about these rumors then … Tatis has drawn speculation as a trade candidate because of the Padres’ major needs elsewhere (namely in their starting rotation) and the level of return they would obviously receive if they were to move Tatis -- a 26-year-old superstar in his prime.
Then again, that would mean trading a 26-year-old superstar in his prime -- and one who is on a reasonable contract and largely beloved by the Padres’ fanbase.
The 2025 season was a down year offensively by Tatis’ lofty standards. He was still worth 6.1 fWAR and won the Platinum Glove in the National League. He batted .268 with an .814 OPS and 25 homers and finished eighth in the voting for the NL MVP Award.
There are nine seasons remaining on the extension Tatis signed before the 2021 season. That deal carries an average annual value of just over $24 million (though it’s backloaded, so Tatis will make $36.7 million over the final six years of that contract). In any case, it’s an affordable contract by industry standards, given Tatis’ level of production.
“Having a guy like Fernando Tatis under contract for a long time at set dollars -- in a market that’s exploded -- feels like big-time value for the Padres,” Preller said.
He’d been asked about the number of long-term contracts doled out by the Padres and the money on their books in the coming seasons. Preller largely chalked that up to a good thing. With Tatis, it clearly is. Other contracts, like Xander Bogaerts, Manny Machado and Yu Darvish might soon become onerous (or already are).
But Preller dismissed that notion, saying, “You want to have a few players that you believe in under contract for multiple years.”
With Tatis -- and Jackson Merrill, who signed an extension that can also be viewed as team-friendly in April -- it’s a different story. They’re in their 20s, under team control throughout what should be their prime seasons. As Preller noted, that’s “big-time value.”
But maybe not quite untouchable?
“You’re not going to cover your ears and just hang up the phone immediately,” Preller said. “That’s why we’re in these jobs. Because you owe it to the organization and yourself to at least hear what’s out there at this time of year on any player in any kind of conversation.”
Yes, even Fernando Tatis Jr.