Though the San Diego Padres moved on from Juan Soto this offseason, they’ll nonetheless rely on top-of-the-line gamers within the recreation in outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr.
Towards the Seattle Mariners, the 25-year-old hit a two-run moonshot within the third inning, giving the Padres a 3-2 lead. It was his first house run in spring coaching.
Final season, the Padres moved the previous All-Star to the outfield after they signed shortstop Xander Boagerts. He thrived within the new function, successful a Gold Glove. Nonetheless, he struggled on the plate with profession lows in batting common (.257), OPS (.770) and slugging proportion (.449) in 141 video games.
The Padres would miss the postseason and dealt Soto to the New York Yankees for seven gamers. Based on FanDuel, they’ve the second-worst Nationwide League West odds (+1600). Nonetheless, Tatis Jr. thinks the workforce is a sleeper.
“I nonetheless imagine that we’re a superb baseball workforce,” he not too long ago advised MLB.com. “We have to go take it every day and handle enterprise. I positively imagine that we’ve got the blokes that it takes to win ballgames.”
If Tatis Jr. will get again within the groove in 2024, the workforce might flip issues round, exceeding expectations.
