The Giants are going to have to get used to seeing Fernando Tatis Jr.
The San Diego Padres have been in talks on a possible extension with the superstar shortstop, a source tells NBC Sports Bay Area. The contract could be completed before shortstop Francisco Lindor is extended by the New York Mets, who traded for him Thursday.
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SIGN UP HERE The source also says the timeframe of this extension isn’t certain, but there is “ink on the paper,” and there could be more progress in the next week or so.
Pio Deportes, citing sources, reported the Padres are “negotiating a contract with Tatís Jr. for $320 million and 11 seasons.” NBC Sports Bay Area could not confirm those numbers.
Tatís Jr. is still under team control for five years and won't be a free agent until 2025.
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It appears the Padres ideally would like to have 22-year-old Tatís locked in before Lindor would hit the open market. Lindor could be part of a star-studded shortstop free agency class in 2022 that includes Corey Seager, Trevor Story and Carlos Correa.
Mets president Sandy Alderson said he will address a contract extension with Lindor and it will be "evolutionary."
The consensus for the timing appears to be to make sure Tatís is locked in before Lindor resets the market at the position. Lindor is in his final year of arbitration.
A Tatís extension would just the Padres as the Los Angeles Dodgers' biggest long-term threat in the NL West. In two MLB seasons, Tatis has slashed a .301/.374/.582 line and hit 39 home runs.
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The Padres have put their money where their mouth is this offseason, extending starter Mike Clevinger for two years and adding both Yu Darvish and Blake Snell to their rotation for the 2021 season.
Although the Giants have a strong future, a Tatis extension could rush their timeline and create motivation to compete in the NL West sooner rather than later. With Tatis set to be locked up for the foreseeable future, the Giants' best hope of returning to the postseason might be expanded playoffs lasting well beyond 2020.
