Major League Baseball announced Friday afternoon that Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. has been suspended 80 games without pay after testing positive for Clostebol, a banned performance-enhancing substance. ESPN’s Jeff Passan ( Twitter link ) reported that Tatis had failed a PED test seconds before the league’s announcement.
The Padres released a statement about the stunning development:
“We were shocked and very disappointed to learn today that Fernando Tatis Jr. tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance in violation of Major League Baseball’s Joint Prevention and Treatment Program and was subsequently suspended for 80 games without pay. We fully support the Program and hope Fernando learns from this experience.”
Tatis will go the entire 2022 season without appearing in a major league game. The star shortstop suffered a broken left wrist in a motorcycle accident during the offseason, an injury that was revealed when he reported to the team in spring training. He underwent surgery and was out of action for months. There was finally light at the end of the tunnel, with Tatis sent down to Double-A for a rehab assignment last week. He had played four minor league games and was due to rejoin the big league club in a couple of weeks. This will no longer be the case.
MLB specified that Tatis’ suspension is effective immediately. The Padres have 48 more games on the regular season schedule. That will leave him in position to miss up to the first 32 games of the 2023 season, though Tatis’ suspension would be reduced for the playoffs he misses (if the Padres make the postseason this year). Regardless of how long his suspension lasts next season, Tatis’ 2022 season is over for good.
It’s a crushing blow for a San Diego team that enters Friday night in possession of the National League’s final Wild Card spot. They are just one game away from the Brewers, setting the stage for a hotly contested pennant race. If they are to reach the postseason, the Friars will have to do so without the elite midseason reinforcement they had.
This does not mean that the Fathers are condemned. They’ve been without the two-time Silver Slugger all season and still are 12 games over .500 with a +40 differential. The deadline blockbuster to add Juan Soto and Josh Bell is bigger than ever now. San Diego still has a fearsome middle of the order with Soto, Bell, Manny Machado, while Jake Cronenworth and Jurickson Profar each have above-average hitting.
There’s no way to replace a player who owns a .292/.369/.596 slash line over his first three big league seasons, but the Padres are in as good a position as a team can reasonably be to withstand the absence of Tatis. They have gotten good play from Ha-Seong Kim at shortstop in his second MLB season. The former KBO star is hitting .247/.324/.371 through 392 plate appearances, exactly league average offensively as measured by wRC+. Public metrics have pegged Kim as one of the best defensive shortstops in the sport, making him a more than adequate replacement for the rest of the season.
More to come.