WASHINGTON — Fernando Tatis Jr. will not play for the Padres this season.
The 23-year-old shortstop was suspended Friday for 80 games by Major League Baseball for violation of the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy.
That means he will miss the rest of 2022, be ineligible for the postseason and miss the first 32 games of 2023.
Tatis said in a statement the positive result for the banned substance Clostebol stemmed from a medication he took to treat ringworm. In the lengthy statement, he apologized to Padres Chairman Peter Seidler, President of Baseball Operations A.J. Preller, his teammates and fans and said he was “devastated” to not be playing.
“That’s his story,” Preller said Friday night, speaking in a tunnel outside the visitors’ clubhouse during the Padres’ game against the Nationals. “I haven’t had a chance to talk to him about it yet. But ultimately, that’s his explanation. I think the biggest thing … is there is a drug policy in place. He failed the drug screen and, ultimately, he’s suspended and he can’t play. That’s the biggest thing. It’s the player’s responsibility to make sure that he’s in compliance. He wasn’t.”
Tatis, who became one of the biggest stars in the sport almost as soon as he debuted in 2019, is in the second year of a 14-year, $340 million contract. His salary is $5 million this year and $7 million in 2023.
Preller, who was highly supportive of Tatis when it was announced he would undergo surgery in March to repair a wrist fracture suffered in an offseason motorcycle accident, was clearly less so Friday.
“It’s very disappointing,” Preller said. “He’s somebody that from the organization’s standpoint we’ve invested time and money into. When he’s on the field, he’s a difference maker. You have to learn from the situations. We were hoping that from the offseason to now that there would be some maturity, and obviously with the news today, it’s more of a pattern and it’s something that we’ve got to to dig a bit more into. ... I’m sure he’s very disappointed. But at the end of the day, it’s one thing to say it. You’ve got to start showing by your actions.”
When Tatis was injured in the offseason, multiple team sources said the Padres were not going to take advantage of any clauses in his contract to recoup money. The decision was based on a desire to maintain good relations with a player they consider a cornerstone of the franchise over the next decade-plus.
Preller said Friday the organization would “revisit” some of the details from Tatis’ offseason.
“We’ll start digging into the shoulder and wrist; we’ll look a little bit more into that now, because we’ll have some more time to have some conversations there,” Preller said. “I think what we need to get to is a point in time where we trust. Over the course of the last six or seven months, I think that’s been something that we haven’t really been able to have there.
“From our standpoint, obviously he’s a great talent, he’s a guy we have a lot of history with and do believe in. But these things only work when there’s trust both ways. I think that’s going to be something that we’re going to have plenty of conversation and time to talk to Fernando about. That’s something that clearly, if we’re going to have a partnership and a real relationship, we’re going to have to make sure that that’s strong.”
Preller said he received a call from one of Tatis’ representatives shortly before 4 p.m. ET. Multiple team sources said no one with the club had an inkling of Tatis’ failed test until then.
The joint drug program agreement between the league and its players’ union prohibits MLB from informing clubs of a suspension until the player accepts the suspension without an appeal or his grievance has been denied.
Tatis decided to accept the suspension Friday.
He was scheduled to play center field in his fifth rehab game with Double-A San Antonio. He instead took a flight to San Diego.
“We were surprised and extremely 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 subsequently received an 80-game suspension without pay,” the Padres said in a statement. “We fully support the Program and are hopeful that Fernando will learn from this experience.”
Tatis led the National League with 42 home runs in 2021 and is among the league’s most exciting players. Last June, he became the fastest player in history to reach 50 career home runs and 50 career stolen bases. But he has played in just 273 of the Padres’ 498 games since his debut on opening day in 2019.
Preller told players about the suspension in a team meeting shortly before they took the field for Friday night’s game. Manager Bob Melvin spoke after Preller.
“I think the message from really everybody was we have a good team, we have a good group,” Preller said. “And the goal is to win a World Series. We haven’t had Tati for this season. So, it’s not like we’ve had him in the lineup and now we won’t. I think to a man, all the guys in the clubhouse believe we can win; they know we can win. It’s never been about one player. I think the sentiment coming from Bob and coming from all the players was this really doesn’t change what are what we’re looking to accomplish.”
The suspension was announced by MLB a couple minutes before the game began.
The game’s second batter was Juan Soto, who received a long standing ovation and acknowledged the crowd before his at-bat.
Soto and first baseman Josh Bell were acquired at the trade deadline last week, and the Padres had looked to the return of Tatis to further enhance their lineup. However, Preller reiterated Friday night the team dealt with the idea it was possible Tatis didn’t play again this season or perform as hoped.
“That was part of our conversation at the deadline was ‘Yeah, we’d like to have all these players play together and have a full complement of guys with Tatis in there,’ ” Preller said. “But even looking at the deals, part of the (conversation) for us was you don’t know … because of the health component with Tatis. It was, ‘Yeah, if Tatis comes back, maybe this offense picks up without all those deals, but we weren’t counting on that.’ So I think now looking back on it, it’s probably more important the deals that went down.”
Tatis will also not be eligible to play for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic next spring.
His statement read:
“I have been informed by Major League Baseball that a test sample I submitted returned a positive result for Clostebol, a banned substance. It turns out that I inadvertently took a medication to treat ringworm that contained Clostebol. I should have used the resources available to me in order to ensure that no banned substances were in what I took. I failed to do so. I want to apologize to Peter (Seidler, the Padres’ chairman) AJ (Preller, the Padres’ President of Baseball Operation), the entire Padres organization, my teammates, Major League Baseball, and fans everywhere for my mistake. I have no excuse for my error, and I would never do anything to cheat or disrespect this game I love. I have taken countless drug tests throughout my professional career, including on March 29, 2022, all of which have returned negative results until this test. I am completely devastated. There is nowhere else in the world I would rather be than on the field competing with my teammates. After initially appealing the suspension, I have realized that my mistake was the cause of this result, and for that reason I have decided to start serving my suspension immediately. I look forward to rejoining my teammates on the field in 2023.”
