Padres Fernando Tatis Brings Home First Ever Fielding Bible Award

New position? No problem.

2023 answered a lot of questions for Padres superstar Fernando Tatis Jr as he returned to be one of the faces of MLB this season. 

Chief among these questions wasn't his PED suspension or his injury history but rather his defense at a new position. 

GM AJ Preller signed shortstop Xander Bogaerts to a big contract before the 2023 season which kicked Tatis out to a new spot in the outfield. 

As a right fielder, Tatis answered every question about his lackluster and then some as he earned recognition for the first Fielding Bible award of his career. 

2023 Fielding Bible Awards🏆

RF winner - Fernando Tatis Jr., @Padres

* 1st career Fielding Bible Award

* 1st player in Padres history to win Fielding Bible Award

* Led all RF with 29 Defensive Runs Saved
(next-closest RF: 9 Runs Saved)@tatis_jr @LosPadres #BringTheGold pic.twitter.com/kc4VT0OE8l

— SIS_Baseball (@sis_baseball) October 26, 2023

With his great speed and cannon arm, Tatis' first year as a right fielder was far better than anybody else at his position. 

The argument now could be made that Tatis has become one of the league's premier all-around players after the move away from the infield panned out. 

A move away from his horrid start at shortstop allowed Bogaerts to slide right into the potent Padres' lineup. 

Tatis alongside teammate Ha-Seong Kim dominated with the glove as the pair made quite the defensive duo in 2023. 

Sadly it was only individual achievements that San Diego celebrated as the team barely scraped past the .500 mark this year. 

Despite World Series expectations in the preseason, the Friars stumbled their way out of the postseason after their 2022 NLCS run.

Still, there is much to be excited about for the 2024 Padres thanks to Tatis' emergence as a dominant defender. 

The team could look a lot different, especially with Bob Melvin's departure as manager earlier this week but the core should remain intact. 

With Tatis, Kim, Bogaerts, Manny Machado, and others, San Diego may be able to weather the loss of their manager and Cy Young favorite Blake Snell next season.