Padres Hopeful Fernando Tatis Jr. Contract Will Be Completed Before Season

The San Diego Padres are hoping to keep Fernando Tatis Jr. around. 

Padres general manager A.J. Preller appeared on MLB Network Radio and said that the team would have conversations "behind closed doors" in hopes that both sides would end up "on common ground to work something out at some point before the season." 

The 22-year-old will be arbitration-eligible after the upcoming season and remains under Padres control until he becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2025. 

In October, Preller said the abridged season—not a lack of interest—contributed to an extension not occurring during the season for the shortstop. 

"We'll start to look more seriously at that here this offseason, and it sounds like there's interest on both sides, so we'll see where that goes," he told reporters. 

Tatis earned a Silver Slugger and finished fourth in National League MVP voting this season, when he tallied a .277/.366/.571 slash line with 17 home runs, 45 RBI, 11 doubles and 11 stolen bases in 59 games. 

The Dominican Republic native led the team to a postseason berth for the first time in 14 years before San Diego was eliminated in the NLDS by the eventual World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. 

In 2019, Tatis finished third in the Rookie of the Year voting behind New York Mets star Pete Alonso and Atlanta Braves starter Mike Soroka. In 84 games, Tatis blasted 22 home runs and 13 doubles with 16 steals and 53 RBI while slashing .317/.379/.590.

Tatis is the centerpiece of what he referred to as "a special group," and if the team is able to keep him around, they will continue to see similar levels of success to what they reaped in the 2020 season.