Fernando Tatis Jr. has 340 million reasons to be thankful to be a Padre
Fernando Tatis Jr.'s extension means that we've now seen the four richest contracts in MLB history signed in the past three off seasons.
Tatis' extension is worth $340 million over the next 14 years, and is the third richest contract in league history. Mike Trout still owns the biggest MLB contract at $426.5 million signed in 2019. Mookie Betts owns the second richest contract in league history that will earn him $365 million that he inked with the Dodgers in 2020.
Tatis's $340M extension is the 3rd-largest contract ever handed out in MLB history. 💰 Mike Trout - $426.5M 💰 Mooki… https://t.co/RmmtLHgzYq— ESPN (@ESPN) 1613613652.0
Tatis is only 22 years old however and isn't coming with a long track record of success in the league so there is some inherent risk in this move by the Padres organization. To compare, Trout and Betts were both 27 when they signed their mega-deals. However, Tatis has burst onto the MLB scene since his debut and has been a driving force behind the Padres becoming must-watch TV.
The young squad earned the moniker Slam Diego as the team increased their team home run ranking from 20th in 2019 (Tatis' rookie season) to 4th in 2020. Tatis only played in 84 games during his rookie season due to a lower back injury that forced the team to shut him down for the year. He still managed to finish third in NL Rookie of the Year voting finishing with a .317 batting average, 22 home runs, and 53 runs batted in.
To follow up on his stellar rookie performance Tatis continued to progress in his second MLB campaign in the truncated 2020 season. In the 60 game season Tatis slashed his way to a .277 batting average with 17 homers, 45 RBI, 50 runs scored and 11 steals and he finished fourth in NL MVP voting trailing only Mookie Betts, his teammate Manny Machado, and the eventual winner of the award Freddie Freeman.
Pretty good company to keep.
The Padres made it to the playoffs last year for the first time in 14 seasons. Much of that was due to the explosive offense led by Machado and Tatis (now both with $300 million contracts). Tatis made the most of his playoff experience as he hit .318, smashed two homers, drove in five runs, and scored five runs himself in San Diego's matchups against the Cardinals and Dodgers in the 2020 postseason.
San Diego fell just short of a World Series appearance last year, and the organization must feel like they are within striking distance of bringing a championship to Pacific Beach as they've been very active this offseason bringing in two all star caliber arms in Blake Snell and Yu Darvish. The Padres had spent the better part of a decade and a half floating up and down the standings in the NL West which allowed them to acquire a lot of high level talent in their farm system through the draft. The team in turn used a lot of those assets in acquiring Snell and Darvish in trades, but the results in San Diego owning one of the best looking starting rotations in baseball in 2021, and an even better one in 2022.
Darvish, who was once thought to be washed up, revitalized his career in Chicago with the Cubs and he finished second in NL Cy Young award voting last season. Darvish has returned to his dominant form we saw from him early on in his career with the Texas Rangers. Snell, a Cy Young winner himself in 2018, has to be excited to join a team with the kind of offense the Padres will be toting out there as his 3.24 career ERA should be good enough to get him close to that 21 win mark he had during his Cy Young year.
Padres have the best pitching staff in the league by 10% over 2nd place. https://t.co/jfhnnSxdgk— peter thomas (@peter thomas) 1613500601.0
They will be joined by Mike Clevinger in 2022 when he returns from Tommy John surgery which must make the team's old ace, Dinelson Lamet, pretty happy considering the amount of pressure that is taken off his shoulders with all the help hitting the team's rotation. It doesn't appear that the Padres have many weaknesses heading into this season. One knock on them was they didn't have a clear closer at the end of their bullpen, but the recent signing of veteran reliever, Mark Melancon, should put those questions to bed.
We're all excited to see the next installment of the Slam Diego series, but now that the left side of their infield is worth nearly three quarters of a billion dollars, there are going to be some hefty expectations for this young team to live up to. If you didn't have a reason to watch Tatis and the Padres this season, now you have 340 million of them.
Nolan Arenado will be headed to St. Louis for the 2021 season
After Friday night's blockbuster trade was announced we now know the St. Louis Cardinals will boast one of the best power hitting duos in Major League Baseball.
BREAKING: Cardinals have agreed to acquire Nolan Arenado from Rockies, sources tell @TheAthletic. Deal pending appr… https://t.co/dCqjyqLRNp— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken Rosenthal) 1611974622.0
Ken Rosenthal (The Athletic) broke the news about the Colorado Rockies agreeing to send all-star third baseman, Nolan Arenado, to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for around $50 million and a package of players that were yet to be determined. Colorado who signed Arenado just two years ago to an eight year extension, is obviously looking to hit the rest button on their organization if they're willing to part ways with their five time all-star at the hot corner.
Deal unlikely to be official tonight and maybe even not this weekend. Arenado will need to formally waive his no-tr… https://t.co/YR8x8Wa7dF— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken Rosenthal) 1611975537.0
Speculation about whether Rockies' shortstop, Trevor Story, will be the next piece to find its way out of Colorado. Story's two year contract expires after this season and in the offseason he will become a highly sought after, and highly priced unrestricted free agent. The Rockies haven't traditionally been an organization that pays its players once their big payday comes due. Arenado was an exception to that, and look how quickly they got his contract off their books.
The Rockies: “We’ll just trade Arenado and with the money we save we’ll sign Trevor Story.” Trevor Story and his a… https://t.co/2CRPwj8oCq— Al Smizzle (@Al Smizzle) 1611977785.0
It would make sense then for Colorado to also attempt to find a trade partner for Story before the trade deadline as he is far too valuable to lose for nothing. Story would certainly fetch a couple top prospects to help bolster their farm system. But let's get back to the real story which is Nolan Arenado to the Cardinals, and after mentioning top prospects that brings me to Dylan Carlson.
MLB Pipeline is just announcing its new national top 100 prospect list for 2021. For the #stlcards: 13. Dylan Carl… https://t.co/Q1Lc6X6l3w— Brian Walton (@Brian Walton) 1611883809.0
The Cardinals got a small sample size from one of baseball's top prospects in the form of outfielder, Dylan Carlson. In the truncated 2020 MLB season we only saw Carlson in 35 games, and at one point was sent down to the minors. Upon his return late in the year he looked like a different hitter and was performing well enough to be slotted in at the cleanup spot in the lineup going into the playoffs.
With the pending arrival of Arenado, it's likely that Carlson will be bumped down a few spots in the lineup which should actually benefit him by putting him in more situations with runners on base resulting in him seeing better pitches to hit. From a fantasy perspective, this could make Carlson a sneaky bet to end the season with an RBI total towards the top of the league if he has Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt getting on base ahead of him.
Goldschmidt will be at the other corner opposite Arenado, and they're a good bet to be back to back in most of the lineups the Cardinals deploy this season which should already be causing headaches for opposing pitchers. Both players saw dips in their power numbers in 2020, but so did a lot of players and it shouldn't be something we're concerned about unless we see those trends creep their way deep into the start of 2021.
Traditionally we know that Arenado and Goldschmidt are both elite hitters in the league and have proven it year over year for nearly a decade. Arenado and Goldschmidt both came from similar situations where they were asked to carry a lot of the load for their previous teams, but in St. Louis there always seems to be help for their stars even if it comes from unsuspecting places. With one of the best front offices and farm systems in baseball, the Cards have continuously revamped and revitalized their roster by developing talent and meticulously signing free agents. A trade of this magnitude hasn't been seen in St. Louis since they received Mark McGwire from the Oakland A's.
In a league where you have to chase teams like the Yankees, the Dodgers, and the Astros along with up and coming organizations like the Padres making moves this offseason, St. Louis must have felt like they needed something to keep them in that conversation of World Series contenders. In the Arenado trade they got more than something, and it may make them the favorites to win the NL Central.
Here's a look at what we project St. Louis' batting order to look like after the trade.
1. 2B Tommy Edman
2. SS Paul DeJong
3. 3B Nolan Arenado
4. 1B Paul Goldschmidt
5. LF Dylan Carlson
6. RF Dexter Fowler
7. C Yadier Molina
8. CF Harrison Bader
9. Pitcher
Alvin Kamara scored 6 TDs for fantasy managers during Championship Week
As Ferris Bueller might say: The world of sports moves pretty fast...
... If you don't stop and look around at least once a week, you could miss it. Here we'll review what you might have missed in the past week all in one place. Why spend hours scrolling through Twitter to catch up on the news you want? We've already done that for you, so remember to check back every Monday to get your dose of weekly sports review.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers secured their spot in the playoffs after Week 16 and now only three spots remain to be had in the NFC. The Cleveland Browns were unable to defeat the Jets, which would have clinched a playoff spot for them in the AFC for the first time in 17 years. The Browns' loss allowed for the Steelers to clinch the AFC North even after a recent three game losing streak.
Good morning 🤖 https://t.co/VlOJq31ny3— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Tampa Bay Buccaneers) 1609164190.0
Throughout 16 weeks, three teams in the AFC have clinched postseason berths: Kansas City, Pittsburgh, and Buffalo. In the NFC we have four teams that have clinched: the aforementioned Bucs along with Green Bay, New Orleans, and Seattle. With so many spots still up for grabs, we'll see plenty of important games being played in the final stanza of the 2020 regular season. The Dolphins, Browns, Colts, Bears, and Cardinals are all in must-win situations heading into Week 17 while the NFC East crown is still undecided as Washington, the Giants, and the Cowboys can all still stake their claim as division winners.
Alvin Kamara scored six touchdowns on Christmas Day. Today he’s riding his bike around downtown NOLA with a bunch o… https://t.co/nwG58T7vWd— Brett Michael (@Brett Michael) 1609100627.0
While the NFL still has another week before their postseason begins, for fantasy football managers Week 16 was Championship Week and titles were won and lost during a week we saw some huge performances. Alvin Kamara and Davante Adams were absolute monsters in Week 16, and if you had them in your fantasy championship matchup, you're probably spending most of today gloating to the rest of your league.
Kamara amassed 172 total yards and six(!) touchdowns against the Vikings, and Adams hauled in 11 catches for 142 yards and three scores. Kamara and Adams put exclamation marks on the end of their fantasy season's and should head into 2021 drafts as top three options at their respective positions.
You Shouldn't Have Mocked the Belt Mini Series: Davante Adams #GoPackGo https://t.co/LjObluVkkx— Alexander Basara 🇵🇱🐺 (@Alexander Basara 🇵🇱🐺) 1609133213.0
The NBA began their season last week, and we were also treated to a full slate of action on Christmas Day to breakup the unwrapping, unboxing, and food induced naps throughout the day. We saw Jimmy Butler sit out the second half of their game against the Pelicans, as he's nursing an injured ankle, and Zion Williamson dropped 32 points on Christmas Day. The Heat managed to pull off the win however behind a strong outing from Duncan Robinson.
32 PTS | 14 REB @Zionwilliamson put on a show in his first Christmas game 🎁 https://t.co/FK5qk9KRP4— Bleacher Report (@Bleacher Report) 1608927781.0
Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving look ready to dominate the Eastern Conference, as they have Brooklyn rolling early on, and with support players such as Joe Harris, DeAndre Jordan, and Landry Shamet, we saw them handle a good Boston team on Christmas 123-95.
KD and Kyrie's ELITE start 🍿 Kyrie: 31.5ppg/6apg KD: 25.5ppg/4.5rpg The 2-0 @BrooklynNets take on the Hornets ton… https://t.co/dIx4IhvBpw— NBA (@NBA) 1609092001.0
LeBron and the Lakers beat Luka Doncic's Mavericks on Christmas Day and the Clippers bested the Nuggets, but on Sunday the Clippers were embarrassed by the Mavericks as they went into halftime with only 27 points. The Clippers look like a team in need of what Montrezl Harrell left behind, and Harrell is fitting right in with the Lakers as he looks to be assuming a big role with the team right out of the gates with his new team.
There are currently five undefeated teams in the league, but they're probably not the teams you'd expect. Orlando (3-0), Cleveland (3-0), Indiana (3-0), Atlanta (2-0), and Oklahoma City (1-0) are the only teams with goose eggs in the loss column so far. The Celtics and Bucks have both started 1-2, and in the Western Conference the Nuggets have started out 0-2.
Just a wild day in the NBA 🤯 - Mavs blowout Clippers by 51 - Hornets give Nets their first loss - Knicks blowout B… https://t.co/vPsa8AjOlf— Overtime (@Overtime) 1609124427.0
With such a short offseason it's easy to forget some of the new faces in new places including Chris Paul in Phoenix. There is a lot of potential for the Suns to make a jump this year behind the veteran leadership of Paul. We saw him help expedite the progression of young players in Oklahoma City last season, and the Suns are hoping he can do the same for Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton, and Mikal Bridges. The Suns are 2-1 to start the year and are currently sitting in fourth place in the west.
There have been two recent trades in the MLB that will improve playoff contenders. The Nationals acquired Josh Bell from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for pitchers Wil Crowe and Eddy Yean. Bell had a down year in what was a truncated season last season, but in 2019 he made an All-Star team and smashed 37 homeruns and 116 RBI.
TRADE: We have acquired RHP Wil Crowe and RHP Eddy Yean from the Washington Nationals in exchange for 1B Josh Bell.… https://t.co/k53hxfP6lY— Pirates (@Pirates) 1608838263.0
The Pirates on the other hand gets to avoid a pay day for Bell and bring in to promising young arms. Crowe, a former second-round pick, projects to land in the Pirates rotation this year while the younger Yean (19 years old) will likely require a year or two in the farm system before getting a call up to the show.
The bigger news coming out of the world of baseball came on Sunday night when we learned that the Tampa Bay Rays agreed to send Cy Young winner Blake Snell to the Padres for a package of highly touted prospects. The Padres will add an all-star caliber starter to the top of their rotation to pair with Dinelson Lamet and once Mike Clevinger returns from Tommy John, San Diego will have one of the scariest rotations in all of baseball.
Dodger fans rn: #Padres #BlakeSnell https://t.co/wRu1Yhm2EP— Austin Garmo (@Austin Garmo) 1609130990.0
The Rays fresh off a World Series appearance will add one of the best pitching prospects in baseball in Luis Patino and may get a shot with the pro club as early as this year. Also included in the deal were catchers Francisco Mejia and Blake Hunt as well as Cole Wilcox who should need some additional seasoning in the minors before getting a shot with the Padres.
The return for Snell is only as good as the prospects turn out however. So an immediate reaction to this trade is the Padres got the better end of this deal, but with Snell's history of being injury prone combined with the promise of Patino, Mejia, and Hunt we may be singing a different tune a few years down the road.
What's most confusing though is why Snell was on the trade block to begin with, and Monday morning we also saw reports that Kevin Kiermaier, the Rays centerfielder, is also available in trades. Randy Arozarena posted a great postseason, but he's not going to be enough to bring the Rays back to the World Series by himself.
As Ferris Bueller might say: The world of sports moves pretty fast.
If you don't stop and look around at least once a week, you could miss it. Here we'll review what you might have missed in the past week all in one place. Why spend hours scrolling through Twitter to catch up on the news you want? We've already done that for you, so remember to check back every Monday to get your dose of weekly sports review.
MLB
The World Series was decided last Tuesday night and it was the Los Angeles Dodgers who claimed their seventh title, and first in 32 years. After making it to the WS in three of the past four years, LA finally gets a win. Dave Roberts became the first manager of Asian heritage to win a WS.
His dad died last year and was a huge Dodgers fan. With his dad’s hat and shirt in his hand, he watched them win… https://t.co/csUnXty8UB— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) 1604252500.0
Corey Seager won World Series MVP and did it all throughout the postseason including the matchup against the Rays. Seager had a .400 batting average in the WS and hit two home runs, five RBI, scored seven runs, had a stolen base, and played excellent defense.
Seager is only the eighth player in league history to win the MVP award in both their League Championship Series and the World Series.
In 1988, the Lakers and the Dodgers won their respective league titles, making Los Angeles the first city to win a… https://t.co/rrHlfgGcog— Front Office Sports (@Front Office Sports) 1603857377.0
In Game 6, Rays manager Kevin Cash made a questionable decision to pull starter Blake Snell in the 6th inning after allowing a single to Austin Barnes with the top of the order coming up. Snell was only at 73 pitches and had gone 5 ⅓ allowing 2 hits, no walks, no runs, and had struck out nine. Six of those strikeouts were against Mookie Betts, Corey Seager, and Justin Turner, who had struck out in every at bat against Snell in Game 6. What ensued was a Betts double, a run scored on a wild pitch, and an RBI infield single to give the Dodgers the lead they would never relinquish.
Cody Bellinger has a chuckle over Kevin Cash lifting Blake Snell in the sixth. https://t.co/JeCgsrg3Wd— Kenny Ducey (@Kenny Ducey) 1603858440.0
Randy Arozarena finished with 10 home runs, 29 hits, and 64 total bases during the 2020 postseason. All are MLB records for a single postseason. His 14 extra base hits tied him with David Freese for most ever in a single postseason. Arozarena leads a young core for Tampa Bay who should have a window of opportunity to make it back to the World Series over the next few seasons. Most of their players are either under contract or arbitration eligible through 2023.
RANDY. AROZARENA. AGAIN. Starts off Game 6 with his 10th home run of the postseason 🤯 (via @MLB) https://t.co/C1CwSRLJWF— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) 1603844026.0
Clayton Kershaw had two wins for the Dodgers in the WS. Throughout the playoffs he went 4-1 with a 2.93 ERA .91 WHIP, and struck out 37 over 30 ⅔ IP. This championship cements his legacy as one of the best pitchers of his generation adding the one thing that's eluded him during his illustrious career.
The October stage has been so cruel to Clayton Kershaw. But now … a curtain call. Take a bow, @ClaytonKersh22. 💍 https://t.co/YYoeKE0QwS— The Athletic MLB (@The Athletic MLB) 1603856648.0
NFL
Week 8 in the NFL saw its fair share of upsets. Most notably Joe Burrow led the Cincinnati Bengals to a win against the Tennessee Titans 31-20. Burrow had 249 passing yards and two touchdown throws. Giovani Bernard had two scores on the day. For the Titans Derrick Henry had 112 yards and a touchdown as Tennessee loses their second game in as many weeks.
Joe Burrow escapes inside pressure & tosses one up for Tee Higgins, goodness what a haul - https://t.co/hkV4gWh2mF— Michael Kist (@Michael Kist) 1604326405.0
Tua Tagovailoa earned his first NFL win in his first NFL start against the Los Angeles Rams. The Dolphins defense and special teams helped get the W for Miami as Andrew Van Ginkel scored a touchdown off of a fumble recovery and Jakeem Grant scored on a punt return.
The Vikings upset the Packers 28-22 in a division matchup behind the performance of Dalvin Cook. Cook had 163 yards and three rushing touchdowns, and added 63 yards receiving with another touchdown through the air. Aaron Rodgers finished with 291 yards and three touchdown passes, all of them to Davante Adams. The Packers drop to 5-2 and hold a slim advantage over the Bears for the NFC North.
The Raiders embarrassed the Browns 16-6 in a snoozer. Coming off a five touchdown performance in Week 7, Baker Mayfield was unable to find anything downfield, and the explosive offense we've come to expect from Cleveland was nowhere to be found on Sunday. With the Bengals looking to be trending up, the Browns will need to get back on track quickly if they want to avoid a collapse that could find them at the bottom of the division by year's end.
Quick Bites
The Bills have claimed supremacy in the AFC East with their win over the Patriots
The Steelers outlast the Ravens in an AFC North contest where turnovers prevented the Ravens from getting a win
The Seahawks down the 49ers as Jimmy Garoppolo and George Kittle go out with injuries
It takes overtime for the Saints to defeat the Bears
The Cowboys haven't scored a touchdown in two consecutive games as they fall to the Eagles on Sunday night
UEFA Champions League Group Stage Matchday 2 (10/27 and 10/28)
The UEFA Champions League held its second matchday in the group stage on Tuesday and Wednesday. Bayern Munich defeated Lokomotiv Moscow 2-1 and lead Group A with six points. Manchester City dominated Marseille behind goals from Ferran Torres, İlkay Gündoğan, and Raheem Sterling. Man City leads Group C with six points.
Caption this! #UCL https://t.co/kjgbcgDwRS— UEFA Champions League (@UEFA Champions League) 1604325293.0
A much anticipated fixture between Juventus and Barcelona didn't yield as exciting of a result as hoped. Barcelona saw Ousmane Dembélé score in the 14th minute and Lionel Messi added a goal off a penalty kick in extra time to seal the win. Juventus was unable to score and Barcelona now has a three point advantage in Group G over Juventus.
Messi said goodbye to Bonucci 👋 https://t.co/vMMDI8dqZw— Goal (@Goal) 1604323740.0
Other notable wins from Matchday 2 included Manchester United with a resounding 5-0 win over RB Leipzig, Dortmund defeated Zenit 2-0, Chelsea beat Krasnodar 4-0, and Liverpool over Midtjylland 2-0. Matchday 3 continues this week beginning Tuesday 11/3 and continues into Wednesday 11/4.
Boxing
Deontay Wilder has accused Tyson Fury of loading his gloves with "Something the size and shape of an egg weight".
Deontay Wilder releases a video accusing Tyson Fury of cheating. (via @BronzeBomber) https://t.co/NFJULVNtHJ— DAZN Boxing (@DAZN Boxing) 1604172742.0
Furthermore Wilder is accusing his former coach Mark Breland and the training staff of putting a "muscle relaxer" in his water from that fight. Wilder's actions and statements of late have been erratic and not helping his cause in getting the rematch he wants with Tyson Fury.
Gervonta Davis (24-0, 23 KOs) and Leo Santa Cruz (37-2-1, 19 KOs) fought in a highly anticipated matchup between the young prodigy and the veteran champion. "Tank" Davis delivered a Knockout of the Year contender Saturday night on his way to winning the WBA World Super Featherweight and the WBA World Lightweight championships.
Gervonta Davis (-600 ML) puts Leo Santa Cruz to sleep in the sixth round #DavisSantaCruz https://t.co/LelZWUImpu— Barstool Sportsbook (@Barstool Sportsbook) 1604202530.0
Davis fights for Mayweather Promotions and is the protégé of the former champ, Floyd Mayweather. With this win he has justified his rise to stardom and put two divisions on notice. Whatever is next for Davis, it's sure to be in the main event.
UFC
Dana White believes there's a strong possibility that Khabib Nurmagomedov will return to attempt to finish his career with an even 30 wins. Currently, Khabib is 29-0-0, and his early retirement was focused around the loss of his father and coach and not a decline in ability. White feels strong enough about the potential for one more fight that Nurmagomedov will remain lightweight champion rather than vacating it in lieu of his retirement announcement.
Dana White also told me Khabib Nurmagomedov is still the lightweight champion. He's not SURE Nurmagomedov will retu… https://t.co/o8u0z8AUVW— Brett Okamoto (@Brett Okamoto) 1604198299.0
White also announced that Israel Adesanya will be moving up to compete for the light heavyweight championship against Jan Blachowicz. A win for Adesanya would make him a two-division champion.
I have heard that Israel Adesanya wants to face me next. No problem, If you are ready to fight in March, let's do t… https://t.co/8VxSRtu35v— Jan Blachowicz (@Jan Blachowicz) 1603991515.0
Anderson Silva took a loss in what was billed to be his final fight inside a UFC octagon. Uriah Hall won by TKO in the fourth-round, but Dana White spoke about how disappointing the performance was for both fighters. Noting that Hall only threw 11 punches in the second round and seemed to be allowing Silva to stay in the fight. White flat out stated he doesn't believe that Silva should fight again. Even though Silva was hesitant to confirm his retirement in his post fight interview, it appears unlikely he would be offered the opportunity by the UFC.
