Fernando Tatis Jr.'s suspension breaks Padres' trust, puts onus on newcomers

By Rowan Kavner
FOX Sports MLB Writer

This was supposed to be the Padres’ moment.

On Aug. 3, Juan Soto’s contagious energy spread through Southern California. A once-in-a-generation trade brought a once-in-a-generation talent to a city awaiting the spark. San Diego doesn’t have an NBA or NHL team. Its NFL team packed up and left. It is still seeking its first title in a current major professional sports league. 

The Padres offered hope — this year more than ever. 

With front-office moxie and ownership backing, they compiled the talent necessary to make a push for their first World Series appearance in 24 years. Trades for Soto, Josh Bell, Josh Hader and Brandon Drury provided reason to believe. 

Fans wanted to experience the fervor, so much so that a crowd of 44,652 — the Padres’ third-largest of the season — packed Petco Park for a midweek game against the scuffling Rockies just to get a glimpse of the newcomers and a feel for the excitement. 

As thrilled as Padres fans were with what they had, it was also about what they could be. 

A five-game losing skid, including a three-game sweep by the first-place Dodgers, tempered spirits slightly. But the deals weren’t made with early August in mind. They were made for October, when the team would be whole again. 

Manny Machado had carried a mediocre offense in the first half. Soto turned a playoff hopeful into a legitimate contender. And once Fernando Tatis Jr. returned? That trio would rival any in baseball — including the division leaders’ up the freeway.

Before Soto suited up for his new team, the 23-year-old superstar was asked to envision a Padres lineup with everyone healthy.

"It’s going to be really exciting," he said, growing increasingly amped as his answer continued. "It’s going to be really tough to go through. I wish good luck to the other pitchers."

Now, those pitchers will breathe a sigh of relief while the rest of the baseball world laments.

In a span of 10 days, San Diego went from confetti to controversy, from celebration to exasperation. General manager A.J. Preller’s ambitious moves lit a fuse in the city, but a superstar’s actions smothered the flame. 

Fernando Tatis Jr.’s 2022 season ended before it could begin.

The injured star, on the cusp of a return, tested positive for Clostebol, a performance-enhancing substance that violates MLB’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program and is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Tatis will miss the next 80 games, forcing him out for the rest of the regular season, the postseason and the start of next season.

"I’m sure he’s very disappointed," Preller told reporters. "But at the end of the day, it’s one thing to say it. You have to start by showing it with your actions."

Those were the words of a president of baseball operations whose patience is wearing thin.

Tatis' suspension is a devastating blow to a buzzing city and a shock to all of Major League Baseball, which loses one of its rising stars and most recognizable athletes — one who seemed poised to compete this year on the grandest stage, this time with more surrounding talent than ever. 

If the season ended today, the Padres would hold the final wild-card spot. But with a healthy Tatis, their roster would rival any in the game. 

In a statement, Tatis claimed he inadvertently took a medication that contained the banned substance in an effort to treat ringworm. Whatever the reason for the positive test, the carelessness put a damper on the brewing anticipation in San Diego and an organization ready to compete now. 

Tatis is the third major-leaguer to be suspended for Clostebol, joining Freddy Galvis (2012) and Dee Gordon (2016). He will forfeit about a third of his $5 million salary this year and a fifth of his $7 million salary next year.

"I should have used the resources available to me in order to ensure that no banned substances were in what I took," Tatis wrote in a statement delivered via the MLB Players Association. "I failed to do so." 

He sent his apologies to his teammates, the organization and baseball fans. Tatis initially planned to appeal the suspension, then realized what caused it and decided to begin serving immediately. 

"That’s his story," an irritated Preller told reporters Friday before his team finished an 8-2 win against the Nationals. "It’s the player’s responsibility to make sure that he’s in compliance. He wasn’t."

In their own statement, the Padres expressed surprise and disappointment to learn of the violation. Preller told reporters that he didn’t know about the failed test until Friday afternoon. That was long after the Padres leveraged their future to go all-in at the deadline. 

That doesn’t make the moves a mistake. But would Preller have dealt that many top prospects for a run this year if he had known his superstar wouldn’t return?  It’s impossible to know for sure, though it’s difficult to sense any regret. 

Yes, Bell and Drury will hit free agency before Tatis’ suspension lifts. But it was never a guarantee that Tatis would be healthy this season, nor is it every day — or ever — that a player of Soto’s caliber becomes available. If anything, Tatis’ absence reinforces the necessity of the Padres' acquisitions.

In Joe Musgrove, Yu Darvish and Blake Snell, the Padres have the front-line starters to pose an October threat. In Hader, they added a four-time All-Star at the back end of the bullpen. Soto, Bell and Drury give San Diego the offensive boost required to make a run to and through October. Machado brought the offense to this point, and as Soto demonstrated in 2019, he is capable of carrying it the rest of the way when he gets hot.

"I think we have the guys to get to where we want to be," Machado said, keeping the faith after Tatis’ latest blunder put the Padres in another inauspicious position following the 14-year, $340 million contract he signed in February 2021.

Tatis has played 273 of a possible 576 games since his 2019 rookie season, which was limited to 84 games due to a back issue. He dealt with a shoulder issue last season, though he still displayed what makes him such a special talent, marvelous superstar and face of the game, launching a National League-leading 42 homers. He became the fastest player ever to 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in a career. 

But he missed 32 games, and his team missed the postseason.

Two months later, Tatis hurt his wrist in a motorcycle accident in the Dominican Republic. The injury occurred during the lockout, and the Padres decided not to try to recoup any money or move to void the contract, focusing instead on the long-term relationship. Tatis underwent surgery in March after a fracture was revealed.

The injury had kept him out until now. He played in four rehab games with Double-A San Antonio and seemed close to finally joining the new-look Padres on the field. Instead, that moment will never arrive.

Today, it seems the motorcycle incident wasn't the wake-up call the Padres had hoped. Given the recent developments and shattered trust, Preller did not rule out revisiting the events that led to Tatis’ shoulder and wrist injuries of recent years. 

"I think we were hoping that from the offseason to now, that there would be some maturity," Preller said. "And obviously with the news today, it’s more of a pattern and something we’ve got to dig a little bit more into."

The frustrations trickled to the clubhouse. Padres manager Bob Melvin said the news "stunned everybody." 

Starter Mike Clevinger went a step further: "It’s the second time we’ve been disappointed with him. You hope he grows up and learns from this and learns that it’s about more than him right now."

Tatis will move to the restricted list for the final 48 games of the regular season, though his mistake will follow him long after. It’s a colossal loss for baseball, a massive disappointment for fans of the game, an obvious blow to the upstart contenders and a deflating letdown for a city that, just nine days after a euphoric deal, was pulled back down.

That’s not to say one player extinguishes all hope. Look to last year’s champions, the Braves, who lost Ronald Acuña Jr. and then saw their midseason additions carry them the distance. The Padres still believe the group they’ve assembled, though now more shorthanded than they hoped, can overcome Tatis' absence come October.

The buzz in San Diego might have taken a hit this week. But it still exists. 

"I think this is as much optimism as they’ve had in their organization’s history," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, a San Diego resident who played and coached in the organization, acknowledged earlier this month. "It wasn’t like this when I was there."

Rowan Kavner covers the Dodgers and NL West for FOX Sports. A proud LSU alumnus, he credits his time as a sportswriter and editor at The Daily Reveille for preparing him for a career covering the NFL, NBA and MLB. Prior to joining FOX, he worked as the Dodgers’ editor of digital and print publications. When not at a stadium or watching sports, Rowan enjoys playing with his dog, hiking, running, golfing and reminiscing about the Mavs’ 2011 championship run. You can find him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.