Ex-Mariners star gives convincing reason to trade Fernando Tatis Jr. over Dylan Cease and Michael King amid Padres' disappointing offseason

Former Seattle Mariner All-Star Harold Reynolds believes the San Diego Padres should look to trade away outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. instead of their two right-handed starting pitchers, Dylan Cease and Michael King. Reynolds feels it would be hard to restore the quality of their starting rotation if the Padres ship out Cease and King, while moving Tatis Jr. would allow them to cut down on wages.

The San Diego Padres are looking to reduce their payroll this year and have not made any notable additions in the free agent market thus far. They are reportedly looking to trade away Dylan Cease and Michael King after both pitchers delivered impressive campaigns for the team last year. The Padres have agreed to a $13.75 million salary for Cease, while King wants $8.8 million in his arbitration hearing.

Harold Reynolds feels the Padres need to trade one of their superstar position players rather than the two starting pitchers and identified Fernando Tatis Jr. as the foremost candidate. Reynolds is a long-time analyst for MLB Network and offered his view during MLB Hot Stove this Tuesday.

"Manny [Machado]: You can't move that contract. [Xander] Bogaerts: Not moving that contract," he said. "One player that could change the whole direction of this organization, and that's Tatis. I'm putting him on the market for a trade, and you know how many teams are going to hop in at that number, and that young player to go and get him.

"Now I keep my pitching, I'll get back something for Tatis, and we will keep this rolling," Reynolds added. "But to go and say, "I'm going to get rid of my pitching," do you know how hard it is to find pitching?"

Fernando Tatis Jr. presently holds an average annual salary of around $24.5 million, and he has 10 more years remaining on his contract.

The pitching is what made the Padres rise: Harold Reynolds on why Padres should look to trade Fernando Tatis Jr. than Dylan Cease, Michael King

Fernando Tatis Jr. was named an All-Star for the second time in his career last year (Image Souce: IMAGN)

Harold Reynolds explained why he feels it makes more sense for the San Diego Padres to keep Fernando Tatis Jr. than one of their frontline pitchers. According to Reynolds, the starting rotation is one of the biggest strengths of the team. Therefore, he thinks the Padres will lose their edge and may not be able to compete at a high level if they move Dylan Cease or Michael King out of their roster.

"The pitching is what made the Padres rise to where they are," Reynolds said. "Their starting rotation is as good as anybody's. They have the ballpen; they put that stuff together. They pitch. They win games."

Dylan Cease and Michael King both finished in the top 10 for the Cy Young Award in the National League last year.