Padres Rumors: Xander Bogaerts and Fernando Tatis Could End Up on the Trading Block
After missing the postseason in 2023, the San Diego Padres enter the offseason with a ton of questions that need answering. They have multiple decisions to make in how they want to build their roster, and it could see them move on from long-time players.
Some decisions may be tougher to make than others, and after a very disappointing season, it could see the Padres make some big changes. MLB insider Bob Nightengale of USA Today believes that San Diego could put two of their better players on the trade market, just to see what they could get.
“If they have to make some tough decisions, GMs say, they wouldn’t be surprised to see the Padres dangle shortstop Xander Bogaerts and outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. in creative deals to avoid trading Soto.”
The Padres would likely receive a nice haul if they were to trade away Tatis Jr, but it’s hard to envision them doing so. He has been the heartbeat of this club for the last few years, but his off-the-field issues could persuade the Padres to move on.
Bogaerts is the harder of the two to move, especially since he is just one season into his new contract. He still has 10 more years left to go on the 11-year deal worth $280,000,000 that he signed last offseason.
Most teams aren’t going to want to take that on unless the Padres eat a massive portion of the deal. But that would only put the Padres even further behind the eight ball if they are trying to shed salary for next season.
“The Padres took out a $50 million loan just to meet payroll in September, and plan to reduce their payroll by about $50 million this winter.”
San Diego has plenty of options to choose from this winter as they try to get themselves back into a place of playoff contention. It seems that nothing is off the table for them this winter, and honestly, that may be the correct way to go about things.
