On Wednesday, sources told ESPN that the San Diego Padres have signed a 14-year contract extension for the sum of $340 million with Fernando Tatis Jr. This is one of the longest commitments and one of the largest amounts given to a young player in American baseball history.
In 2019, Fernando Tatis was acquired from the Chicago Sox in a trade deal for the older starter James Shields. A few years later Tatis has become the pivot of the baseball team and is the player around whom the Padres team will be built as they hope to win a championship.
Tatis and Manny Machado ($300M) who plays third base are the two Padres who have signed $300+ million deals. New York Yankees players Gerrit Cole ($324M) and Giancarlo Stanton ($325M) also have signed huge deals.
Fernando Tatis Sr. showing his sons how it’s done. 😂
(🎥: marifertatis on IG) pic.twitter.com/HT2yisNXpy
– MLB (@MLB) February 16, 2021
Tatis has signed the third highest contract in the history of the league, 10M more that Bryce Harper who got a $330M contract in 2019. Mike Trout signed a $426.5M deal in 2019 and Mookie Betts signed a $365 deal in 2020. However, Tatis remains the youngest at 22, to sign such a humongous baseball deal.
When a 16-year-old Tatis arrived to play with the Chicago White Sox, he was one among many, but the San Diego Padres saw his potential in the first year of signing him. The mutual agreement grew by leaps and bounds to the level of him being the fulcrum of the team and the player they look to emerge victorious against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Not only has he finished fourth in the MVP, but has also been encouraged by the Padres as they have given him more than what he would have received as a free agent, with an awesome guarantee of $340 million.
Tatis has hit 277/366/571 with 17 home runs and 45 RBIs in 59 games. The Padres have rewarded the 6-foot-3, 217-pound Tatis with a great contract that will last till his age 35 season.
_(cropped).jpg){kind=link}
