Padres GM hopes to ink Tatis extension before next season

After a torrid couple of weeks, it doesn't look like the San Diego Padres are done.

General manager A.J. Preller is hoping star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. agrees to a long-term extension with the club before Opening Day.

"He's obviously a tremendous player, one of the better young players in the game. ... He just wants to keep getting better and better and from our standpoint, we'll start to really dig in on that," Preller told MLB Network Radio. "Hopefully we're on common ground and able to work something out here at some point before the season."

With so few teams actively looking to spend, the Padres appear ready to take the opposite approach.

Preller already made it known that extending Tatis was a priority in mid-December, but that was before the club acquired left-hander Blake Snell from the Tampa Bay Rays, righty Yu Darvish from the Chicago Cubs, and signed star Korean infielder Ha-seong Kim.

The goal was to bolster the roster before cycling back to Tatis.

"We wanted to focus ... on the beginning part of the offseason on improving our ball club," Preller said. "And then get to the new year and really start to dig in on Tatis' situation."

The 22-year-old Tatis has quickly become one of baseball's most exciting faces in his two seasons with the Padres. He has hit .301/.374/.956 with 39 home runs, 98 RBIs, and 27 stolen bases in 143 games.

Tatis is currently slated to reach free agency after the 2024 season. If the Padres can extend that window, they'll have the opportunity to keep the offensive core of Tatis, Manny Machado, Eric Hosmer, and Trent Grisham together for many years to come.