Padres' odd Fernando Tatis Jr. 2B decision gets trade speculation from MLB analyst

Padres' odd Fernando Tatis Jr. 2B decision gets trade speculation from MLB analyst originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The San Diego Padres made an interesting decision, moving Fernando Tatis Jr. to second base in recent days. He's a good defender, so it's not a major surprise that he looked fine at the position.

But it's still an odd move nonetheless. Following such a move, there were bound to be questions about why the Padres made this change.

And while not the announced reasoning, Harold Reynolds for MLB Network speculated that this decision with Tatis, moving him to second base, is being done to showcase Tatis' skills with a trade in mind.

Padres speculated reasoning for Tatis' move is for a potential trade

"I think this was a showcase, because the Padres' payroll," Reynolds said. "They've gotta do something. They can't carry this payroll. They can't carry this. Somebody's gotta go."

This is an interesting angle to take on the position change for Tatis. While he's not a full-time second baseman, and his move to the position might not be such an eye-opening change, it's still a way to drive up his value.

Tatis is under contract through the 2034 season on a $340 million contract. It's going to be hard to keep him and all of the other Padres stars on the roster.

Trading Tatis, their three-time All-Star, two-time Gold Glover, two-time Silver Slugger, and two-time Platinum Glover, will be difficult to come to terms with.

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But the value they could get back in the form of a prospect haul for the 27-year-old would be immense. And this move to second base would likely help drive up the return in a trade, with his versatility being a trait worth investing in.

Also, if Tatis can play second base, along with the outfield, then there is likely to be more teams showing interest in the Padres superstar in a trade.

The Padres trading Tatis was something rumored about this past offseason, and now, Reynolds is bringing back speculation on a potential trade, which is something to keep a close eye on for the rest of the year.

There's no guarantee the Padres end up trading him, but Reynolds believes this move to second base has opened the door up a bit more to a potential trade, as this odd position change is being done to showcase Tatis' versatility to interested teams.

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