Padres News: Fernando Tatis Jr. Wins First Career Gold Glove Award

Ha-Seong Kim joined Tatis Jr. as a fellow Gold Glove award winner.

Despite having an immensely disappointing season in 2023, two Padres are walking away with some hardware.

Right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. and infielder Ha-Seong Kim were both named Gold Glove winners at their respective positions.

For Tatis, it signifies a complete transition from shortstop, where the 24-year-old had flourished after a suspension caused Tatis to miss the entire 2022 season and the signing of Xander Bogaerts pushed Tatis out to right field.

Tatis led Major League Baseball with 29 defensive runs saved, even though the suspension forced him to miss 20 games of the 2023 season. Coaches said that Tatis' attitude towards the positional shift was positive throughout the season.

"It was a new challenge, since the beginning of the year, moving out there," Tatis said after that robbery. "I embraced it. I feel like everybody has seen the results, and I’m very happy with it."

(Via AJ Cassavell,

MLB.com

)

Tatis' 27 defensive runs saved was the second-most in MLB this season while his 12 outfield assists were second to only Nolan Jones (19) and Lane Thomas (18).

While the Padres were unable to capitalize off of the elite defensive play of Tatis Jr., the template is set for the future. Tatis Jr., Kim and Bogaerts are all on multi-year deals and, when healthy, could be make up one of the strongest defensive units in the National League.