Fernando Tatis Jr. is heading into year six of his 14-year, $340 million contract extension with the San Diego Padres in an unlikely slump. The 27-year-old is slashing .252/.324/.301 with zero home runs across 143 plate appearances in 2026, a .625 OPS that sits nearly 230 points below his career mark and an OPS+ of 76, placing him 24% below league average.
His offensive numbers have contributed to a significant lack in the Padres offense as a whole. As of Tuesday, manager Craig Stammen decided to put him at the five spot in the Padres order in Tuesday’s lineup against the San Francisco Giants.
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The 143 plate appearances with zero home runs is the longest drought in a season ever for the 27-year-old. Through Tatis’ first active MLB seasons, he’s managed to hit his first home run by his fifth game.
The move matters a lot for the team as it’s the lowest Tatis has ever batted in a lineup since 2019 in his rookie year, according to AJ Cassavell of MLB.com.
Another lineup addition against the Giants is Sung-Mun Song, making his first career start Tuesday night. The 29-year-old South Korean infielder signed a four-year, $15 million deal with the San Diego Padres in December after spending nine seasons in the Korean Baseball Organization.
The Padres are in a battle for the top spot in the National League West with the Los Angeles Dodgers, with a 20-14 record, just 1.5 games back of Los Angeles. For the Padres to keep up with a team that is intent on repeating as NL West champions for a fifth straight year, the team is going to need Tatis to figure things out at the plate quickly. If not, the team risks losing ground and falling out of playoff contention overall.
