Steven Urena
By Steven Urena
Fernando Tati$ Jr. is hotter than a fox in a forest fire.
Just when I thought the San Diego Padres were finished splashing around, they went and made the third-largest deal in baseball history.
The Padres owned the rights to Tatis until the 2024 season (skipping his 3 years of arbitration). They gave the 22-year-old a 14 year, 340 million dollar extension. Tatis’ career stats in 143 major league games are a .301 batting average, 39 HRs, and 98 RBIs. Is the deal genius or insanity?
Let’s talk about The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.
The Good…
Hits for average hits for power, fielding, arm strength, wheels. Tatis has it all. He is a five-tool player. Six, if you count swag. He’s the most talented and exciting baseball player on the face of the earth. There is no denying that Tatis has the potential of a first-ballot hall of famer.
The money makes sense for both parties. The Padres potentially saved 50-60 million dollars by not paying him for his arbitration years and going straight to the finish line. Let’s face it, if Tatis produced the next 3 years, he was going to command the largest contract in baseball history. The Padres might have saved themselves over 100 million dollars by locking him up now.
Tatis is 22-years-old. He will be 36, not 39 when his contract is up. By extending his contract now, the Padres are paying Tatis for his best years instead of paying him in his late 30’s. At 36, a player can still produce in the majors, but at 39, players are most likely over the hill.
The Padres are World Series or bust. Who cares about the money if you are winning world titles? I like the move.
The Bad…
It’s possible Tatis could be a bust. Yes, I know people will call me crazy for even considering this. However, this is Major League Baseball. Teams will adjust and write the book on him. We’ve seen players burst on the scene before; he’s not the first, just the latest.
Some stars shine too bright and burn out. Big money brings big expectations and overwhelming pressure. When you’re 22-years-old, and everyone expects you to hit a home run every time you bat, you can see how the pressure can get to a young ballplayer.
Can San Diego keep up with the Joneses? With big money going to Tatis, Machado, Hosmer, Myers, Darvish–and in a few years to Snell and Lament–do the Padres have the revenue to keep players from leaving for greener pastures?
The Ugly…
Fernando Tatis’ Macho Man Randy Savage sunglasses.
The Padres uniforms. Brown and yellow is never a good look.
Mike Clevinger. He looks like a grunge guitarist who never made it.
Trent Grisham’s error in the 2019 Wild Card round. Oops.
Blake Snell being taken out of game 6 of the 2020 World Series. Thanks!
MLB Quick Hits
Angels fans, I am sorry. A few weeks ago, I said the only good thing out of Anaheim right now is Trout and Ohtani. I was wrong. Anthony Rendon is the real deal. The man can hit anyone, anytime, any team, any league. Expect a big year out of Rendon.
Alex Cora. Shame on him for his involvement in the Astro’s sign-stealing scandal but Red Sox Nation is glad to have him back, and I think he’s the best fit for that organization. Boston will take their lumps, but they’ll be back.
Keep an eye out for Wander Franco. The 19-year-old is in the Tampa Bay Rays organization and is rated the #1 prospect in the MLB. On the 20-80 scale, the scouts rate him an 80 for hitting for average. The MLB average is 50, so a rating of 80 means the scouts project Franco to be among the leaders in batting average when he becomes an everyday player in major leagues. He is an average fielder with a good arm, so I expect to see him play every day as a second baseman.
Contact: Steve Urena at:
Email: theurenaexpress@gmail.com
Twitter/IG: @theurenaexpress
