The Chicago White Sox made a huge mistake when they traded Fernando Tatis Jr. to the San Diego Padres in order to acquire James Shields. Nobody (not even the Padres) knew that Tatis would become the star that he is today when he was 17 years old but it still hurts.
The fact that Tim Anderson has bloomed into a superstar shortstop as well makes it hurt a lot less but they could have found a place for both of them. They certainly could use a second baseman right now and another big-time home run hitter.
Now, Tatis does get hurt a lot and it isn’t always during baseball games. He hasn’t played yet in 2022 because of an injury sustained during the offseason on his motorcycle. That is not good but you’d like to think that his riding days are over for now.
Tatis just recently spoke with the FanSided podcast “The Baseball Insiders”. He had a lot to say to both Robert Murray and Mark Carman but the most interesting thing he talked about was being traded away when he was 17.
He went into detail about being grateful to the White Sox for giving him a chance but he seemed like he was (at the time) surprised to be traded. He literally wondered “do I suck?”. We later found out that he doesn’t suck and is one of the best players in baseball.
The Chicago White Sox gave on up SS Fernando Tatis Jr. way too early.
“I was only 17 when I got traded. I hadn’t played my first professional game. I was like, ‘Do I suck?’”
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) June 29, 2022
An interview with Fernando Tatis Jr., who opens up on being traded by the White Sox, his recovery, his offseason talks with Sammy Sosa and a lot more. https://t.co/K4oBbpdmCb
Tatis also talked about other things like his recovery, Sammy Sosa, and ice cream. It was a great interview to listen to but it does hurt a little bit for White Sox fans because he would be the perfect fit in this organization right now.
It was also very fun to hear about all of the players he got to meet with his dad playing in the big leagues. He now gets to be that for the younger generation which he does a great job with. We can only hope that he gets back on the field as soon as possible.
If he does and gets back to the level that we know he can, the Padres could make a deep run in the postseason. It is sad that he isn’t on the White Sox but it is nice to know that he is a good guy. We can only hope that they don’t make a move like that again.