Padres manager Jayce Tingler on Tatis extension: 'I think the talent is undeniable'

Fernando Tatis Jr. became one of the highest-paid athletes in the world yesterday, signing a 14-year, $340 million extension with the San Diego Padres. Tatis was obviously happy with the deal but is Padres manager Jayce Tingler happy with it?

"That's a definite," Tingler said. "I think the talent is undeniable. The more you're around him, the organization, the scouts, the minor league guys, the major league coaches, his teammates -- it's just a consistent theme. His drive to win, his drive to improve."

It's hard to disagree with Tingler's assessment of the 22-year-old. In just two seasons, Tatis has managed to establish himself as one of the defining faces of the MLB and at such a young age, there's still plenty of room for improvement as a player. Tingler said that even seeing Tatis work this offseason shows how committed he is to being the best version of himself.

"You look up and he's videoing the Dominican, he's still wanting to play ball, he's working," Tingler said. "He knows that there's areas that he wants to attack and he continues to attack and work on, and those are some of the things that some of the guys you mentioned, whether it's Jordan watching 'The Last Dance' and things like that -- there's hopefully some very common themes there."

With Tatis as their foundation, the Padres look like they have one of the brightest futures in all of baseball, as they made the playoffs last season for the first time since 2006.