Fernando Tatis Jr., Padres Reportedly Agree to 14-Year, $340M Contract Extension

The San Diego Padres and superstar shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. came to terms on a 14-year contract extension Wednesday, per Dennis Lin and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

Robert Murray of FanSided reported the deal was for $340 million.

In just two MLB seasons, Tatis has quickly developed into one of the best all-around players in Major League Baseball, and the Padres' decision to lock up the 22-year-old phenom long-term speaks to that fact.

Tatis Jr., who is the son of former MLB third baseman Fernando Tatis, burst onto the scene in 2019 as a rookie when he hit .317 with 22 home runs, 53 RBI, 61 runs scored and 16 stolen bases. Despite appearing in just 84 games, Tatis finished third in the National League Rookie of the Year voting.

His second season came under difficult circumstances in a campaign that was shortened to 60 games because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tatis hit .277 with 17 homers, 45 RBI, 50 runs scored and 11 steals in 59 games, making him a clear NL MVP candidate.

Although the Padres fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Division Series, Tatis' first playoff run was a fruitful one. In six postseason games, he hit .318 with two home runs, five RBI and five runs scored.

Tatis would have been under team control through the 2024 season with arbitration each year from 2022 to 2024, but the Padres avoided having to go through that process by signing him to a new deal.

Perhaps no team in baseball is better set up for long-term success than the Padres, as they are stocked with quality prospects as well as young stars at the major league level.

A lineup consisting of Tatis, Manny Machado, Eric Hosmer and Wil Myers is among the best in baseball, and it figures to help make the Padres World Series contenders in 2021 and beyond.

The Padres and their fans dealt with several lean years to get to this point, as they missed the playoffs in 13 consecutive years from 2007 to 2019, but with Tatis in the fold for a long time to come, the Padres could now become a perennial playoff team.