Padres lock up Tatis to record 14-year contract
Star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. and the San Diego Padres reached agreement on a 14-year, $340 million contract extension, a source familiar with the deal told ESPN.
The $340 million extension is the third-largest contract handed out in MLB history, trailing only Mike Trout’s $426.5 million extension over 12 years with the Angels and Mookie Betts’ $365 million extension over 12 years with the Dodgers.
Tatis, 22, made the AllMLB first team and won a Silver Slugger award after hitting .277 with 17 home runs and 45 RBIs in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. He finished fourth in the NL MVP voting.
As a rookie in 2019, Tatis hit .317/.379/.590 with 22 homers and 53 RBIs. ARRIETA RETURNS TO CUBS ON ONE-YEAR DEAL >> Jake Arrieta won a Cy Young Award, threw two no-hitters and helped end a championship drought in his first go-around with the Chicago Cubs.
If his second tenure goes anything like that, they sure would take it. Arrieta returned to the Chicago Cubs, finalizing a $6 million, one-year contract on Wednesday.
He can earn $1 million in performance bonuses under the deal.
“This guy’s been battle tested,” manager David Ross said. “He’s got the mentality. He’s got the poise. And that example, just how he goes about his preparation, how he goes about his performance and that presence that he has, I think ... just kind of bleeds out to the other guys.”
To open a roster spot, Chicago placed left-hander Kyle Ryan on the COVID-19 related injured list. Chicago also agreed to to contracts with veteran relievers Brandon Workman and Pedro Strop, people familiar with the deals said.
The 34-year-old Arrieta won the NL Cy Young Award with Chicago in 2015 and helped the Cubs win the 2016 World Series for their first championship since 1908. He went 68-31 with a 2.73 ERA in 128 starts over five years in his first stint with the team.
“I got to talk to the pitchers today,” Ross said. “Just staring into that group and then locking eyes with him, it was a nice sight from the manager’s seat, that’s for sure.”
While the reunion is a feel-good story for the reigning NL Central champions after a tough winter, Arrieta hasn’t experienced the same level of success since he left Chicago after the 2017 season.
The 6-foot-4 righthander signed a $75 million, three-year contract with Philadelphia as a free agent and went 22-23 with a 4.36 ERA in 64 starts with the Phillies.
“I think Jake feels like he has something to prove,” Ross said. “I think he is really comfortable here in his Cubs uniform and has got a longstanding history. I’ve watched him perform at his best. I know him, he’s trying to get back to that version — or as close as he can to that.”
TEBOW RETIRES AFTER FIVE YEARS WITH METS >> Tim Tebow is retiring from baseball after five years as a minor leaguer with the New York Mets.
The 2007 Heisman Trophy winner returned to baseball in 2016 for the first time since his junior year of high school and reached Triple-A. Tebow played 77 games at baseball’s highest minor league level in 2019, batting .163 with four home runs. He finishes his career with a .223 average over 287 games.
CLEVELAND’S ALL-TIME
SAVES LEADER CODY ALLEN RETIRES >> Former Cleveland closer Cody Allen has retired, the team announced. The 32-year-old Allen is the franchise’s alltime leader with 149 saves. He pitched for the Indians from 2012-18.
The right-handed Allen had 24 or more saves in five straight seasons between 2014-18, posting 30 or more three times. He had a career-best 34 in 2015.
Allen spent the 2019 season with the Los Angeles Angels and struggled badly as he went 0-2 with a 6.26 ERA in 25 appearances. In 2020, he was signed and later released by the Texas Rangers on July 24. The Cubs signed Allen a week later and released him in early September. MARLINS SIGN OF ADAM DUVALL
TO ONE-YEAR DEAL >> The Miami Marlins signed free-agent outfielder Adam Duvall to a one-year contract with a mutual option for 2022, the team announced. Contract terms were not announced, but reports said the deal is worth at least $5 million guaranteed.
The 32-year-old hit .237 with 16 home runs, 33 RBIs and a .532 slugging percentage last season with the Atlanta Braves, his third year with the club. Duvall injured his oblique in Game 1 of the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers in October.
PADRES SIGN VETERAN RELIEVER MELANCON >> The San Diego Padres signed veteran reliever Mark Melancon, MLB Network reported.
Melancon, a three-time All-Star who turns 36 in March, will receive a $2 million salary in 2021 and has a $1 million buyout option for 2022, per the report.