The New York Yankees rarely stay quiet in the weeks leading up to the Winter Meetings, but this offseason comes with a different kind of buzz. The team faces a gaping vacancy in left field, unresolved pitching questions, and the lingering uncertainty of Anthony Volpe’s post-surgery future. Yet amid all of that, one headline from The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner has cut through the noise: a Fernando Tatis Jr. trade to the Yankees isn’t impossible.
Nobody is calling it likely, but not impossible is still enough to electrify a fan base starving for a superstar swing after watching Juan Soto slip away a year ago.
The Athletic Says the Door Isn’t Shut
Kirschner’s mailbag for The Athletic began like most Yankees offseason discussions: left field, starting pitching, bullpen depth, Volpe’s future. Then came the question that fans have whispered, tweeted and daydreamed about for months: Could the Yankees really trade for Fernando Tatis Jr.?
Kirschner didn’t dismiss the idea. He didn’t laugh it off. He didn’t call it unrealistic.
Instead, he wrote what Yankees fans needed to hear: The Padres have “no reason” to trade Tatis right now, but if payroll concerns push San Diego to make him available, the Yankees should immediately jump in.
That is as close to a green light as you’ll get from a plugged-in insider at this stage of the offseason.
More importantly, the contract makes an unthinkable blockbuster surprisingly functional. The Padres carry a luxury-tax hit of just $24.3 million annually for Tatis through 2034—a staggering bargain for a 26-year-old superstar who reinvented himself as one of baseball’s elite defensive right fielders after beginning his career at shortstop.
This is not a declining veteran making $40 million a year. This is a player entering his prime at a price that fits New York’s long-term financial structure.
What a Tatis Deal Would Require—and Why the Yankees Are Positioned for It
The Athletic made one reality perfectly clear: If Tatis ever hits the trade market, the cost will be extreme. San Diego would demand multiple top prospects, likely a young MLB-ready piece, and probably salary offset depending on their direction.
But for the Yankees, this is where timing is everything.
Brian Cashman has spent years guarding his upper minors, refusing to cash in the organization’s most valuable pieces for short-term gambles. That approach, widely criticized at times, now pays off if a player of Tatis’ caliber becomes available.
A package starting with Jasson Domínguez, Spencer Jones or Chase Hampton, plus additional prospects, would be painful. But it would also land New York a franchise-altering superstar under team control for nearly a decade.
As Kirschner noted, Tatis would “quickly become a fan favorite,” and his charisma—much like Soto’s—would fit seamlessly in the Bronx. His combination of power, speed, defense and star presence is precisely what the Yankees have lacked since Aaron Judge became the lone face of the franchise.
And unlike the Manny Machado rumor offered in The Athletic’s comments section, Tatis is not stuck on an aging curve or an oversized contract. He is the rare mega-talent whose better years are still ahead.
Nobody is saying the Padres are shopping Tatis.
But The Athletic has now said out loud what Yankees fans have quietly hoped: If San Diego ever listens, the Yankees are one of the few teams capable of making a competitive offer—and one of the few that should.
Not impossible. And in a winter where the Yankees need a jolt, not impossible might be the most exciting news they could have asked for.
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This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
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