The San Diego Padres are heading into a very interesting offseason. Mike Shildt departed from the team, and the Padres are losing multiple key players to free agency.
A lot of roster turnover could be on the horizon, especially since A.J. Preller has a knack for making big moves when necessary. One rumor popped up early in the week that alluded to the Padres potentially trading Fernando Tatis Jr.
This would be a huge decision from the front office in San Diego, and a shocking one at that. But, as Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports, a Padres source revealed the firm stance San Diego is taking on Tatis's availability.
Padres take firm stance on Fernando Tatis Jr. Trade rumors
Acee shared a short but direct quote from a Padres source on the chances of Tatis getting traded. That Padres source said, "We're not trading Tatis."
The 26-year-old outfielder is a two-time Platinum Glove award winner, with two Gold Gloves, two Silver Sluggers, and three All-Star nods in his six years playing for the Padres.
He's signed for the long haul on a huge $340 million extension over 14 years. He'll be a free agent in 2035, nearly a decade in the future.
The Padres have some older players on expensive contracts, like Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, and Jake Cronenworth, among others.
Moving on from some of those aging veterans will have to happen at some point, but for now, there's little reason to break up the Padres' playoff-caliber roster to save some money.
More: Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr. Wins second Gold Glove award
Tatis is a huge part of the Padres team, and trading him, even if it were for a massive return, would dramatically hurt their chances of making it back to the playoffs.
He's coming off another strong season, hitting.268 with an.814 OPS in 155 games played. Tatis had a career high in hits (159). Runs scored (111), stolen bases (32), and walks (89).
Add on his 27 doubles, two triples, 25 home runs, and 71 RBIs, and great defense, and Tatis was a huge reason why San Diego made the playoffs and had a chance to win the NL West over the Los Angeles Dodgers late in the year.
Trading Tatis would've been a huge mistake, and while he could eventually be traded in the next decade, San Diego isn't moving on from Tatis this offseason, or likely any time soon.
More Padres News:
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- Padres' Mike Shildt announces retirement following 2025 season
- Padres ace Dylan Cease gets $174 million contract update from MLB insider ahead of free agency
- Padres star Yu Darvish out for 2026 after elbow repair and internal brace
- Padres All-Star closer Robert Suarez makes huge $16 million decision
- Padres deemed potential fit to steal Phillies star in free agency