Fernando Tatis’ $340M, 14-Year Deal Finalized By Padres

Speaker 1: 00:00 When some people saw the news, they thought the whole team had been sold. The dollar amount is 340 million, and it's not for the Padres, but for one player for Nando tatties Jr. The 14 year deal between the shortstop and the San Diego Padres was finalized just this morning. It is the longest contract in baseball history. The San Diego Padres have now signed two players, tatties and third baseman, Manny Machado for at least $300 million each. And these very big deals are by no means the only ones the Padres have negotiated joining me now is San Diego sports writer, Jay Paris, Jay, welcome Speaker 2: 00:38 Jade, how are we doing today? Hey, Speaker 1: 00:40 We're doing good. Even better if I had a $300 million contract, but here we are. So tell me, you know, given the history of the Padres, this is pretty stunning news. How would you describe what Padres general manager AIJ Pressler has been doing and how his moves compared to his first four years? Speaker 2: 01:00 Yeah, you know, my, my Spanish is a little bit limited, but this is mucho dinero that I'll just say that for the Padres to make this splash and, and to, uh, really secure Fernando tattoos for the prime seasons of his, uh, which should be a long and exciting career. It's really stunning that it's, the Padres are doing it, but really kind of, uh, they've been tipping their hand, if you will. And for the past five off seasons, they've set a team record for giving an individual contracts. So with Manny Machado and Eric Cosmo, and now [inaudible] and will Myers that, you know, they're not singing those small market blues anymore. They are writing some big checks and they're all, it's all about bringing down the big, bad Dodgers to the North. You know, the days of having to suffer through Padre games where it's not only did they often lose, but they were deadly boring. This is an entertainment business. They see tattoos as an entertainer, as much as a player, he's exciting. He uses with confidence. He makes everybody else around him better. He is just flat fun to watch, Speaker 1: 02:06 I guess that's why he married a top dollar, but, but really, you know, I mean, it's, it's pretty risky, isn't it? Um, he hasn't even played a full season worth of games yet. So this would be his first full season playing, assuming all goes well, Speaker 2: 02:20 Great point. Both sides now are taking quite a risk. Uh, some people are saying [inaudible] is leaving millions of dollars on the table by, by agreeing to such a long deal, but, you know, he could sign another big deal. Really. It would only be 35 or so when this one expires, but the Padres are taking a chance and, uh, it tells what they think of Mr. Tatties. And I think it tells you they've got the money now to take those risks, you could have blow up in their face. Absolutely. You know, a guy could get injured, a guy could tail off his career and remember the shortstop is one of the more demanding positions on the, on the field. There's so much action and you are prone to getting hurt and the market certainly wasn't going to be going down for. They figured we like what we see. We're going to make sure he stays here. Are we going to take a risk? Yes, we are. We feel that it's worth it. Speaker 1: 03:10 All right. In 2017 to T signed with a firm called big league advance, tell us what that is and why that contract is going to cost [inaudible] millions. Speaker 2: 03:21 Yeah, it's, it's like, uh, almost having a sponsorship. Like you see it in golf all the time, where a guy's a good golfer, but certainly doesn't have the money to, to go traveling the world to, to chase wins and to chase prize money into cities. Uh, the, from VLA saw a potential star and they gave him the security of, of some money early in his career. When you know that not a lot of people were predicting, he was going to be signing a $340 million contract when he was 18, 19 years old. So again, it was a managed risk. It was a risk that, uh, uh, the firm was willing to take. And now, you know, some reports are it, it could cost tatties $34 million. That's a lot of money, but 34 million off of $340 million contract, that's, you know, change off the dresser at night, right? Speaker 1: 04:06 Oh, of course. But, uh, speaking of all this money, you know, I mean, I got to know the Padres payroll was already pretty substantial here. I've read that Manny Machado, Wil Myers and Eric [inaudible] alone cost the team 70 million a year. You mentioned, you touched on the deep pockets here, but you know, where's all this money coming from. Speaker 2: 04:25 It's coming from, uh, Peter, Sidler the, uh, the team chairman it's real Ron Fowler. Uh, one of the other owners stepped back a little bit and this is Pete Seidler, his baby now. And, uh, Siler runs the Siler equity firm. He's the grandson of a Peter O'Malley the former Dodgers owner. And of course his grandfather brought the Dodgers out, out West from Brooklyn. So he's grown up in the game, but he went out, he knows the game inside and out that he went out and made his money in the business world. And his equity firm is a worldwide with offices in Australia and Edwards, so he can cut the checks. And, uh, I think it also shows that, uh, you know, these, these owners aren't benevolent. I mean, if, if they think they can invest that money and get a return on it, that shows you how much they're making too. Speaker 2: 05:10 It's, uh, I think what's so striking or telling with this contract is most other major league teams Jade, or are kind of dialing it back because of those revenue streams that were interrupted last year because of the virus. So while other teams are kind of tightening their purses here comes Peter Seidler. And with the city's contract that said, we're full steam ahead. So this isn't like a one-year slash or one year we're going to try to win it this year and then dial it back. They see this as a sustainable contending team, well into the future. Uh, and that, that comes from the nine straight losing seasons. The Padre fans had to sit through, they think they're going to have a sustainable winning product for years to come Speaker 1: 05:52 Improving. Pitching must have been a major goal for Pressler. Tell us about, of the pictures the Padre signed during the off season. Speaker 2: 06:00 Yeah, he was very busy yet. Blake Snell, uh, Cy young award winner a couple of years ago from Tampa Bay. Rays was brought in, uh, you Darvish of former Japanese star, who was the rep for the Cy young award, which goes to the best pitcher in the national league last year. And then, uh, Joe Musgrave, uh, the pride of East County. He w he was added to the rotation too. Again, these are proven players. They're bringing in these aren't young kids with peach fuzz, and boy, we hope their development goes fast. I mean, pictures that, that Mr. Perler brought in, you know, you flip over their baseball card, there there's some ears on there and there's some successful years. So, you know, you're only as good as your starting pitching is, is a long time baseball, cliche, and while ti tatties. And these other big hitters are certainly, uh, going to be asked to do a lot. You got to have strong pitching, and he certainly, uh, fortified that part of the team. Speaker 1: 06:50 So how do you think the team will stack up against the Dodgers this year? Speaker 2: 06:54 You know, it's a, it's not a pipe dream to think they can, uh, can play with them. Can they beat him? We'll see 19 games this year, Dodgers Padres, each, one's going to be like a world series. You know, how much San Diego people love to love to beat LA well-known betting site today, put out the projections for how many wins. They have the Padres down for 93 and they yet, I'm sorry, 95. And they have a Dodgers down for one Oh three. So that shows you how close really they've, they've, they've made the strides they made to catching the Dodgers. But again, the Dodgers, the world champions, and until you knock that crown off their noggin, you know, they're going to straight around like they are and they deserve it. But it's just exciting that it's no longer they're going into a game. Um, knowing you're your, you don't have the wherewithal to compete. Speaker 1: 07:41 And what's been the reaction from fans to all these contracts. Speaker 2: 07:45 Well, you know, I think, uh, another compelling point here is that the Padres have this market to themselves. There's no other baseball team in Canada or the United States that doesn't share a city or a region with either an NBA team or NFL team. So since the chargers have left and you know, we've gone through a couple of NBA teams, I mean, the Padres are it. So these fans are so desperate for a winner and so desperate to puff their chest out. You know, that that was a kick in the teeth. When the chargers left the psyche, if you will, of the collective San Diego sports fan has been down a little bit. Now the here come the Padres, they're the only game in town and they're good. You know, it'd be one thing if they were the only game in town and they were losing 90 games, like they were for like nine straight years. They're good. And those fans had been, had the patience of job. I mean, if anybody deserves it, it's these cadre fans, they've sat through a lot of losing seasons and now they can go to the ballpark thinking, Hey, we got a chance to win tonight. Speaker 1: 08:45 Hey, we'll see if they're world series bound. For sure. I've been speaking with San Diego sports writer, Jay Paris, Jay. Thanks for joining us. Speaker 2: 08:53 All right, Jay, have a good day now. Thanks for having me.