Potential Padres sale raises real Fernando Tatis Jr. trade questions

We feel like a broken record when we say that the Padres are going to undergo a lot of changes to their roster ahead of the 2026 season, but it seems as if they will be experiencing more turnover than was first expected.

Dennis Lin of The Athletic released an article on Nov. 13 that hinted that the Seidler family is exploring options for selling off the San Diego Padres franchise. This announcement came two days before the second anniversary of Peter Seidler’s death; he purchased the team back in 2012.

Could a new Padres owner decide Fernando Tatis Jr. is the trade chip to reset?

The rumor of a sell-off was mixed in with the rumors of the Padres potentially exploring trade options for their superstar outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. Three days before the Seidler rumor, Bob Nightengale of USA Today took the rumor surrounding Tatis and ran with it.

“They certainly don’t want to trade him, and still may not listen now,” Nightengale said. “But with all of their bloated and back loaded contracts, someone is going to eventually have to depart. And no one making big money has more trade value than Tatis, whose 14-year, $34 million contract suddenly looks rather reasonable.”

Two days after Nightengale reported that the Padres could entertain offers for Tatis, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune interviewed a source close to the Padres during the general manager meetings in Las Vegas. “We’re not trading Tatis,” the source said.

While it is more likely than not that the Padres end up holding on to Tatis, it goes without saying that when there’s smoke, there’s fire. San Diego doesn’t carry a lot of payroll heading into 2026, and it wouldn't be a surprise if the Padres tried to create excess money.

These rumors spark debate on what the best path going forward for the Padres would be, as well as whether rumors are true. This will make for an interesting winter ahead.