Padres Urged to Trade $340 Million Superstar in Shocking Blockbuster Move

The San Diego Padres are having a quiet offseason due to many factors.
The Padres are currently a team desperately trying to shed payroll and they are at the center of an ownership dispute. This has resulted in having only signed one free agent to a big league deal so far.
It is also no secret that in an effort to still stay competitive, they are actively trying to deal some of their star pitchers.
Dylan Cease and Michael King are two Padres who have been at the heart of trade talks. They are also two players that had an extremely productive 2024.
Cease threw 189.1 innings (a career high), going 14-8 with a 3.57 ERA. He also added 224 strikeouts to only 65 walks earning a 3.45 strikeout-to-walk ratio (also a career high).
King produced similar spectacular numbers in 2024 with a 2.95 ERA and a 13-9 record. He threw 201 strikeouts across 173.2 innings pitched to only 63 walks. He notched career highs in strikeouts, wins, and innings pitched.
MLB Insider Harold Reynolds recently opined on MLB Network's Hot Stove that San Diego shouldn't deal their star pitchers as they led them to the postseason last year.
While Reynolds urges San Diego to trade from their crop of offensive stars, they don't have much wiggle room.
Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts don't have very trade-friendly deals, thus, Reynolds named a player that has become synonymous with the Padres during his career: Fernando Tatis Jr.
"The one player that can change the whole direction of this organization, that's Tatis, and I'm putting him on the market to trade," said Reynolds.
"And now I keep my pitching, I'll get back something for Tatis, and we will keep this thing rolling," he continued, "But to go and say I'm getting rid of my pitching, you know how hard it is to find pitching in today's game? I just don't see it."
Harold thinks the Padres should be open to trading one of their star positional players instead of one of their top starting pitchers. #MLBNHotStove | @jonmorosi pic.twitter.com/PKOkZNFdv8
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) January 28, 2025
As hard as it is to find pitching as Reynolds states, Tatis is a talent that would be even more rare in the baseball world.
In Tatis' five seasons in San Diego, he has 127 home runs, 322 RBIs, 561 hits, and a batting average of .279.
He also has two All-Star selections, two Silver Slugger awards, a Gold Glove, and even a Platinum Glove, not to mention an incredibly relationship with the fans. At just 26 years old, Tatis is a cornerstone of the franchise, and one who the fans will never want to see in another uniform.
As wacky as this offseason has been, Tatis should not be the main name dangled in trades. In the 2024 postseason run alone, Tatis launched four home runs with seven RBIs across just seven games.
When the Padres make it back to postseason play, Tatis is the guy they want wearing a Padres jersey. Trading him would prove to be an enormous mistake and the regret would be felt for years to come.