San Diego Padres

San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. has reportedly made enemies in his clubhouse after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug, leading to an 80-game suspension.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, "the Padres remain absolutely livid with Tatis."

The Padres have removed the shortstop from promotion material, taking him off the Petco Park mural while also canceling his bobblehead day scheduled for Sept. 7.

Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Tatis planned to meet with teammates as a group this week to address the failed test.

According to Acee, teammates "expressed disappointment and anger" after the news while some thought him addressing it was "necessary."

"It’s very important," pitcher Joe Musgrove said. "Everyone has got different feelings in here on the whole situation. ... Most of us have moved on. We’ve put it behind us. We don’t want to think about him more than we have to. But this is good. We deserve to hear from him and hear the truth of it from his mouth."

Other teammates have weighed in on the suspension:

Some Padres weighed in on Fernando Tatis Jr.'s suspension pic.twitter.com/ebMxbMHmPP

— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) August 13, 2022

Tatis had yet to appear in a game in 2022 while recovering from a wrist injury, but he was nearing a return when news of the suspension broke. He will now miss the rest of the year— as well as the start of 2023—while the squad attempts a title run.

The 23-year-old is signed through 2034 after agreeing to a 14-year contract extension, and he has certainly been worth the deal on the field. Tatis has finished in the top five of MVP voting in each of the last two years, finishing last season with a league-leading 42 home runs to go with 25 stolen bases and a .975 OPS.

Through three seasons, Tatis is hitting .292 while averaging 48 home runs and 31 stolen bases per 162 games.

The PED suspension raises major question marks about his future in San Diego.

San Diego Padres pitcher Blake Snell has been cleared to make his start against the Washington Nationals, just one night after he was involved in a car accident with a suspected drunk driver.

According to ESPN, Snell's vehicle was struck during a traffic stop on Interstate 5 just one hour after San Diego's 3-1 loss to Washington on Thursday night.

Snell was pulled over by a San Diego police officer for an alleged traffic violation, but it wasn't specified why his vehicle was stopped. The passenger who was in Snell's car at the time of the accident was evaluated after complaining of pain but was released without being hospitalized. After the car crash, the driver of the other vehicle was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.

Snell was evaluated by the Padres medical team on Friday before being cleared to take the mound.

"Physically, he's fine," manager Bob Melvin said before Friday's game. "But that can shake you up a little bit. But our guys checked him out today. And we've talked to him. And he's ready to pitch. So I think we probably got lucky."

Snell enters Friday's start with a 5-6 record and 3.66 ERA in 15 starts this season. He was placed on the injured list earlier this season after experiencing left adductor tightness.

The Padres are hoping to get back on track after losing four of their last six games. San Diego sits one game behind the Philadelphia Phillies for the second wild card spot in the National League entering Friday.

San Diego Padres star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. is continuing to see ramifications from his 80-game suspension after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance.

According to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Padres have canceled a giveaway of Tatis bobbleheads that was planned for September:

The Padres will announce today that the Sept. 7 Fernando Tatis Jr. bobblehead giveaway has been changed to a Juan Soto City Connect shirsey giveaway.

— Kevin Acee (@sdutKevinAcee) August 16, 2022

The 23-year-old shortstop had already been out after suffering a wrist injury reportedly stemming from a motorcycle accident. His positive PED test is yet another disappointment less than two years after he was signed to a 14-year, $340 million contract.

Tatis' father, Fernando Tatis Sr., told MLB insider Héctor Gómez on Monday that his son used a topical spray to treat an infection from a haircut. During an appearance on The Midday Show (h/t ESPN's Alden Gonzalez), Tatis Sr. called it a "catastrophe for baseball" that his son received such a significant suspension.

Jonathan Papelbon is not a Fernando Tatis Jr. fan.

The former closer had strong words for Tatis after he was suspended 80 games for violating Major League Baseball's drug policy.

"This whole Tatis stuff, man, it almost enrages me," he said over the weekend on WEEI's The Bradfo Sho podcast. "I worked my ass off so long and so hard and did it the right way. For me, to see something like that, it hurts me so bad. I'll tell you right now: If I was pitching, every single time I face that dude, I'm drilling him. I don't care if I'm bringing in a run and losing the game."

Tatis' father, Fernando Tatis Sr., told the Dominican Republic's The Midday Show that his son had used Trofobol to treat ringworm on his neck, per ESPN's Alden Gonzalez. Clostebol, the banned substance that Tatis tested positive for, is one of the ingredients in Trofobol.

Regardless of why Tatis used Clostebol or whether he did so knowingly, the substance is on the banned list for both the World Anti-Doping Agency and Major League Baseball.

It will also keep the shortstop/outfielder out for the remainder of the regular season and through the playoffs if the Padres make it that far, with any remaining games of the suspension to be served next season. That has proved to be a disappointment for some of his teammates and general manager A.J. Preller.

"Very disappointed," pitcher Mike Clevinger told reporters. "The second time we've been disappointed with him. You hope he grows up and learns from this and learns it's about more than just him."

The first disappointment Clevinger was likely referencing was Tatis fracturing his wrist in an offseason motorcycle crash, which had sidelined the 23-year-old for the entirety of the current season.

"He's somebody that from the organization's standpoint we've invested time and money into," Preller said of Tatis, who signed a 14-year, $340 million contract extension in February 2021. "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 dig a bit more into."

Papelbon, 41, pitched for the Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Nationals in a 12-year career from 2005-16, accumulating 368 career saves.

The six-time All-Star was no stranger to a bit of controversy during his playing career himself, most famously fighting with teammate Bryce Harper in the Washington Nationals dugout.

So there is the possibility Papelbon would have chosen to throw fastballs in Tatis' direction every time he faced him had the two players' careers lined up, though many people would probably argue that it would be the least mature way possible for him to handle his grievances.

Seemingly nobody was in a mood to downplay the San Diego Padres' haul at Major League Baseball's Aug. 2 trade deadline, least of all the part that included Juan Soto. Even if they hadn't also reeled in Josh Bell, Josh Hader and Brandon Drury, it's just not often that a team trades for the modern-day Ted Williams.

Little did any of us know then how much bigger the Soto trade would look just two weeks later.

The Padres were dealt a huge blow on Friday when MLB announced that star shortstop Fernando Tatís Jr.—who had been nearing his long-awaited return from an offseason wrist fracture—has been suspended for 80 games after testing positive for Clostebol, a performance-enhancing drug.

Previously, the Padres had every reason to be stoked about how their everyday lineup would look with Tatís alongside Drury and Bell and especially Soto and Manny Machado. Tatís and Soto were top-five finishers in the National League MVP voting last year, while Machado has a shot at the fourth top-five finish of his career this season.

"It's going to be really tough to go through," Soto said in reference to San Diego's near-future lineup during his introductory press conference. "I wish good luck to the other pitchers."

With Tatís now out of the picture for the rest of the year and the start of the 2023 season, a tune of a different sort has been coming out of San Diego.

Some Padres weighed in on Fernando Tatis Jr.'s suspension pic.twitter.com/ebMxbMHmPP

— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) August 13, 2022

"It stunned everybody," manager Bob Melvin told reporters. "It's obviously disappointing. ...This is a blow for us, and we'll have to move on. I'm glad we made the moves we did at the deadline. We feel like we have a really good team still, and sometimes you have to deal with some adversity as a team."

"We were waiting to get him back and hopefully for him to be a spark plug for the team, but we've been doing it all year," said Machado.

To the extent that the Padres are 65-53 and in possession of the NL's third wild-card spot, Machado isn't wrong that the club has gotten along fine without Tatís. And thanks to the Soto trade above all, things have a chance to stay that way.

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The Padres Are Going to Miss Tatís' Bat

Perhaps one could argue that the Padres will be better off without Tatís in their everyday lineup, but good luck trying to do so in good faith.

Through his first three seasons with San Diego from 2019-21, the 23-year-old was perhaps the most dynamic offensive force in the sport. His credentials included a 159 OPS+, 81 home runs and 52 stolen bases, much less one who set career bests (165, 42 and 25) in all three categories in 2021.

Unless one buys Tatís' explanation that his failed test was due to him "inadvertently" taking Clostebol for ringworm—which sure seems like hogwash—it's only natural to question whether he achieved all those numbers on the level. Especially in the context of the 14-year, $340 million contract he signed in 2021, he'll have a lot to prove when he returns.

Even still, it's hard to imagine any scenario in which Tatís' return would have been subtraction by addition for the Padres. At worst, he figured to be a substantial offensive upgrade over Ha-Seong Kim, who's played a good shortstop but has hit just six home runs. At best, the Padres would have gotten the superstar-caliber Tatís and reaped the benefits.

For instance, Dan Szymborski of FanGraphs put his ZiPS system to work and calculated that the Padres had a projected.582 winning percentage against league-average competition with Tatís down the stretch. Without him, it went down to .556.

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Yet This Is Still a World Series-Caliber Lineup

If anyone nonetheless just thought, "Wait, that projection still sounds pretty good," well, you're not wrong.

Other rest-of-season projections are also bullish on the Padres, including FanGraphs' Depth Charts. They peg the Friars for more wins above replacement than all but five teams, with only the Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets slated for more WAR from position players among National League teams.

Take Soto, Bell and Drury out of this equation, and the projection for San Diego loses 3.9 WAR. As Tatís was worth exactly 3.9 WAR over his last 75 games of last season, that's a pretty good mark for three guys over just 45 games.

In the meantime, San Diego's offense has already been perking up a bit since Soto, Bell and Drury joined the lineup. Getting shut down by Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcántara on Monday didn't help matters, but the Padres are still up from 4.4 runs per game through Aug. 2 to 4.6 runs per game since Aug. 3.

The 23-year-old Soto has done his part, adorning his new team with a .326/.463/.512 slash line. His first and only dinger thus far as a Padre came on Aug. 9, accounting for his 22nd home run of the year.

Juan Soto homered. #TimeToShine pic.twitter.com/PsU2Kipmtf

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 10, 2022

As good as Machado was already going, the coming of Soto to San Diego seems to have given him still more motivation. He's at .392/.415/.706 since Aug. 3, with one of his three homers serving as a game-winner on the same day that Soto hit his first as a Friar. Drury, likewise, has gone deep three times since the day after the deadline.

As Trent Grisham is the only other Padres regular who's heated up, all the Padres need now is for the rest of their offense to get going. That's doable for at least Bell and fellow All-Star Jake Cronenworth, and don't overlook low-key on-base machine Jurickson Profar either.

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San Diego's Pitching Is Also in Relatively Good Shape

While the Padres wait for their offense to come fully online, they can rest easy knowing that they don't have the same problems with injured pitchers as other NL powers.

Atlanta, for example, could be without ace left-hander Max Fried because of a concussion. The Dodgers likewise recently lost their own ace lefty, Clayton Kershaw, to yet another back injury. They also announced Monday that Walker Buehler is done for the season.

Walker Buehler will have season-ending elbow surgery on August 23 performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache.

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 15, 2022

The Padres, meanwhile, have three aces in good working order.

It was mostly Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish carrying the freight through June, but 2018 American League Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell has been among the hottest pitchers in baseball since the calendar flipped to July. In eight starts, he's put up a 2.08 ERA and whiffed 67 batters in 43.1 innings.

Blake Snell, Vicious Sliders. 😤

10Ks thru 6. pic.twitter.com/DIYKtabfrf

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 14, 2022

Perhaps the biggest question hanging over San Diego's moundstaff is the status of Hader. The four-time All-Star closer was slumping even before the Padres nabbed him in a surprise deal with the Milwaukee Brewers, and it hasn't let up despite the change in uniform and scenery. All told, the lefty has coughed up 16 earned runs in 11 innings dating back to July 4.

However, Hader's upward-trending velocity perhaps rules out the notion that his struggles are injury-related. And he might have even more support in San Diego's bullpen than he had in Milwaukee. Since the All-Star break, Melvin's five most oft-used relief pitchers have a 2.28 ERA over 43.1 innings.

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The Potential Source of Inspiration for the Padres

Embedded in baseball's history are precedents for just about every scenario, including a team losing its best player and going on to win the World Series anyway.

It happened just last year.

On July 10, 2021, Ronald Acuña Jr. tore his ACL trying to make a highlight-reel catch in a game against the Miami Marlins:

Ronald Acuña Jr. exits the game after injuring his knee going for an outfield catch. #ForTheA pic.twitter.com/9HNIKaK11t

— Braves On FanDuel Sports Network (@FanDuelSNBraves) July 10, 2021

The superstar right fielder had gone into that game batting .281/.392/.593 with 24 homers and 16 steals, yet it was all in service of an Atlanta squad that was a game under .500 at 43-44. Acuña's injury thus seemed to spell doom for their playoff chances.

And yet, Atlanta not only came from behind to win the NL East but kept right on winning long enough to capture the organization's first World Series championship since 1995.

Though Acuña's incumbent teammates rallied to the cause, the real difference-makers were the outfielders that general manager Alex Anthopoulos added at the trade deadline: Joc Pederson, Adam Duvall and eventual National League Championship Series and World Series MVPs Eddie Rosario and Jorge Soler.

If Atlanta could pull off such an improbable feat without Acuña, why can't San Diego do the same without Tatís?

With their deficit to the Dodgers in the NL West at 17.0 games, the Padres have the obvious disadvantage of not having a clear shot at a division title and a trip to the National League Division Series.

But whereas Atlanta was a losing team even with Acuña, the Padres have been a winning team sans Tatís. And with respect to the players that Atlanta added last year, San Diego's haul of Soto, Bell, Drury and Hader looks better on paper.

The ol' "stranger things have happened" line therefore actually works in this situation. As unlikely as it may seem right now, these Tatís-less Padres mounting their own run at the World Series would be a less strange version of a thing that's already happened.

---

Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference and FanGraphs.

Shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. was on the verge of returning to the field for the San Diego Padres after he recovered from a fractured wrist, but now he will reportedly be returning to speak to his teammates for a very different reason.

Tatis was suspended 80 games for violating Major League Baseball's performance-enhancing drug policy after testing positive for Clostebol, meaning he will not play a single game during the 2022 campaign since he had already been sidelined.

Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune noted he was in the middle of a minor league rehab assignment while trying to return from the injury he suffered from a motorcycle fall when news of the suspension broke.

Acee also reported Tatis would meet with Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller on Thursday and then speak to his teammates as a group in a separate meeting.

That is notable because some teammates and Preller did not exactly hide their feelings regarding the suspension, with the president of baseball operations questioning the maturity at play with the situation:

I'm sure he's very disappointed but at the end of the day, it's one thing to say it. you have to start by showing it with your actions." (2/2)

— Dennis Lin (@dennistlin) August 13, 2022

"This is the second time we've been disappointed with him," pitcher Mike Clevinger told reporters. "You hope he grows up and learns from this and learns that it’s about more than just him right now. I think we're going to be just fine. Look at this clubhouse. We really don't need anybody else. It'd be nice to have somebody else, but we don't need anybody else. We got everything we need right here."

For his part, Tatis said he "inadvertently took a medication to treat ringworm" as part of a statement regarding the suspension.

Outfielder Wil Myers called the decision to meet with teammates "a big step," while pitcher Joe Musgrove explained it will be ideal to hear from the source:

"It's very important. Everyone has got different feelings in here on the whole situation. More than anything, we want to forget about it. We didn't get any worse with him not coming back. It's just that late life, that spark plug we're not getting. Most of us have moved on. We've put it behind us. We don't want to think about him more than we have to. But this is good. We deserve to hear from him and hear the truth of it from his mouth."

While the Padres are still in wild-card position without Tatis, he would have provided a major spark to their World Series chances.

The two-time Silver Slugger led the league with 42 home runs in 2021 and can impact the game in several ways. He also figured to be the face of the franchise in San Diego for the foreseeable future after he previously signed a 14-year, $340 million contract extension.

The suspension makes the front office's ability to land Juan Soto, Josh Bell, Brandon Drury and Josh Hader ahead of the trade deadline all the more important, but San Diego still would have been far more dangerous with Tatis in the lineup for the stretch run.

San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. was suspended 80 games for violating Major League Baseball's performance-enhancing drug policy after testing positive for Clostebol, and David Ortiz believes the league could have handled the situation differently.

"MLB needs to have some regulations before they made public news like the one that happened to Tatis Jr.," he said, per baseball insider Héctor Gómez. "I think they haven't handled this situation the right way. We can't kill our product, we're talking about an amazing player."

Ortiz is correct in saying Tatis is "an amazing player" considering the shortstop was an All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger winner during his first three seasons. He led the league with 42 home runs in 2021 after he signed a 14-year, $340 million contract extension with the Padres.

However, the 23-year-old is yet to play a game this season because of a fractured wrist, and now he won't take the field again until the 2023 campaign.

Tatis said he tested positive because he "inadvertently took a medication to treat ringworm" as part of a statement issued by the MLB Players Association:

The Major League Baseball Players Association issued the following statement on behalf of Fernando Tatis, Jr.: pic.twitter.com/gCNVcs0a5Y

— MLBPA Communications (@MLBPA_News) August 12, 2022

Padres manager Bob Melvin told reporters Tatis "feels remorseful" about the suspension that added to his extended absence that started with the wrist injury that required surgery and may have happened because of a December motorcycle accident.

"This is the second time we've been disappointed with him," pitcher Mike Clevinger told reporters. "You hope he grows up and learns from this and learns that it's about more than just him right now. I think we're going to be just fine. Look at this clubhouse. We really don't need anybody else. It'd be nice to have somebody else, but we don't need anybody else. We got everything we need right here."

General manager A.J. Preller didn't exactly hold back when discussing the situation either:

I'm sure he's very disappointed but at the end of the day, it's one thing to say it. you have to start by showing it with your actions." (2/2)

— Dennis Lin (@dennistlin) August 13, 2022

Fortunately for the Padres, they improved their team ahead of the trade deadline by adding Juan Soto, Josh Bell, Brandon Drury and Josh Hader and are currently in wild-card position in the National League.

Regardless, it was a stunning development, and Ortiz isn't the only one who thinks it could have been handled differently.

Fernando Tatis Sr. said the situation started with a haircut:

Fernando Tatis Sr.: "What involves him (Tatis Jr.) is a steroid that contains a spray called trofobol... He got a fungus due to a haircut. His mistake was not reading what it contains, which is what apparently makes him guilty of something totally unknown".

— Héctor Gómez (@hgomez27) August 15, 2022

Fernando Tatis Sr: "It was a mistake that could have been handled differently, destroy the image of a player for such a small thing, for a situation like this. Is a catastrophe not just for Tatis Jr, but for all baseball. There’s millions of fans that will stop watching baseball"

— Héctor Gómez (@hgomez27) August 15, 2022

Fernando Tatis Sr.: "All of this has happened because of something that is not worth this issue. This is something for the skin, that’s something that’s not performance enhancing and has no testosterone. It has nothing to help you improve in the game."

— Héctor Gómez (@hgomez27) August 15, 2022

For his part, Ortiz was also connected to PEDs from his playing days. However, he has consistently discredited that connection and has since been elected to the Hall of Fame even though others who were connected, such as Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire, have not.

A bad haircut might have been the genesis of San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. testing positive for a banned substance.

"What involves him is a steroid that contains a spray called trofobol," Fernando Tatis Sr. said of his son, per MLB insider Héctor Gómez. "... He got a fungus due to a haircut. His mistake was not reading what it contains, which is what apparently makes him guilty of something totally unknown."

Fernando Tatis Sr: "It was a mistake that could have been handled differently, destroy the image of a player for such a small thing, for a situation like this. Is a catastrophe not just for Tatis Jr, but for all baseball. There’s millions of fans that will stop watching baseball"

— Héctor Gómez (@hgomez27) August 15, 2022

Fernando Tatis Sr.: "All of this has happened because of something that is not worth this issue. This is something for the skin, that’s something that’s not performance enhancing and has no testosterone. It has nothing to help you improve in the game."

— Héctor Gómez (@hgomez27) August 15, 2022

The younger Tatis said he used a medication that contained Clostebol to treat ringworm.

The Major League Baseball Players Association issued the following statement on behalf of Fernando Tatis, Jr.: pic.twitter.com/gCNVcs0a5Y

— MLBPA Communications (@MLBPA_News) August 12, 2022

Tatis' 80-game suspension will leave him unavailable for the remainder of the 2022 season and the start of the 2023 campaign.

The 23-year-old already saw his 2022 debut delayed indefinitely after undergoing wrist surgery to repair an injury that may have resulted from a motorcycle accident.

General manager A.J. Preller and starting pitcher Mike Clevinger didn't mince words in the wake of Tatis' suspension, which appears to have exposed an existing level of frustration with the young shortstop.

I'm sure he's very disappointed but at the end of the day, it's one thing to say it. you have to start by showing it with your actions." (2/2)

— Dennis Lin (@dennistlin) August 13, 2022

"It's the second time we've been disappointed with him, and you hope he grows up…"

Mike Clevinger on Fernando Tatis Jr.'s suspension. pic.twitter.com/lOG4o61S0s

— Sporting News MLB (@sn_mlb) August 13, 2022

"That's his story," Preller told reporters in reference to Tatis' explanation.

The GM also indicated the team could further scrutinize the circumstances of Tatis' offseason wrist injury:

"We'll start digging into the shoulder and the wrist. We'll look a little bit more into that now because we'll have some more time to have some conversations there. And yeah, I think what we need to get to is a point in time where we trust [each other]. 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."

Preller also alluded to a breakdown in trust between the two parties:

Speaking just now about Fernando Tatis Jr., A.J. 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."

— Kevin Acee (@sdutKevinAcee) August 13, 2022

In general, this was a shockingly forthright way for a team official to speak about a player who's positioned as the future of the franchise. This is only the second year of Tatis' 14-year, $340 million extension with San Diego.

When news of the wrist injury first surfaced in March, some wondered whether the Padres had grounds to void Tatis' contract. They didn't, with one obvious reason being there was no reason to risk antagonizing the two-time Silver Slugger winner.

There's nothing to indicate San Diego is already at a point where it has buyer's remorse and would prefer to move Tatis, but Preller's comments were both damning and potentially telling as to how the organization has shifted.

Whatever the reason behind the positive test, the outcome remains the same for Tatis and the Padres. It's clear he has some work ahead to repair his relationship with the team.

San Diego Padres manager Bob Melvin addressed Fernando Tatis Jr.'s 80-game suspension prior to Saturday's game against the Washington Nationals.

Speaking to reporters, Melvin said Tatis "feels remorseful" about the situation when the two spoke on the telephone.

Major League Baseball announced Friday that Tatis has been suspended for violating the league's performance-enhancing drug policy. The 23-year-old shortstop tested positive for the anabolic steroid Clostebol.

In a statement released after his suspension was announced, Tatis said he "inadvertently took a medication to treat ringworm" that contained the banned substance.

Tatis initially appealed the positive test before withdrawing it to accept his suspension. The ban ensures he won't play at all in 2022.

The former All-Star began a rehab assignment with the Padres' Double-A affiliate on Sunday in anticipation of playing in the big leagues this season. He underwent wrist surgery in March to repair injuries that may have been suffered in a motorcycle crash in December.

Many Padres players emphasized that the team needed to forge ahead in the wake of Tatis' suspension as they chase a playoff spot in the National League.

"This is 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 just him right now," pitcher Mike Clevinger said to reporters Friday. "I think we're going to be just fine. Look at this clubhouse. We really don't need anybody else. It'd be nice to have somebody else, but we don't need anybody else. We got everything we need right here."

Tatis has had injury woes throughout his career that have made him an erratic presence in San Diego's lineup. The Dominican star missed 78 games as a rookie in 2019 because of a back injury. He still finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting after posting a .969 OPS in 334 at-bats.

Shoulder issues caused Tatis to miss 32 games in 2021, but he still managed to lead the NL with 42 homers. He finished in the top four in NL MVP voting in each of the previous two seasons.

Prior to the start of last season, the Padres signed Tatis to a 14-year, $340 million contract extension. The deal is the longest in MLB history.

General manager A.J. Preller did add significant help to the Padres lineup prior to the trade deadline. The team acquired Juan Soto and Josh Bell from the Nationals in exchange for five players.

San Diego has had success in 2022 without Tatis available to play. The team enters Saturday with a 64-51 record, two games ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers for the final playoff spot in the NL.

San Diego Padres stars Juan Soto and Manny Machado gave their thoughts Saturday on Fernando Tatis Jr. getting suspended 80 games for a positive performance-enhancing drug test.

Some Padres weighed in on Fernando Tatis Jr.'s suspension pic.twitter.com/ebMxbMHmPP

— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) August 13, 2022

Soto, who just joined the team from the Washington Nationals at the trade deadline earlier this month, gave a diplomatic response, per Dennis Lin of The Athletic.

The slugger remarked, "It is what it is. We're all humans, and we all make errors. So, we're not perfect." He also stressed that the Padres have to "move forward."

Machado called the suspension a "terrible thing to hear" and a "terrible thing" that he won't be part of the team's playoff push.

Major League Baseball announced the suspension Friday, and Tatis released a statement, noting that the positive test was the result of a substance he unknowingly consumed via ringworm medication:

"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 [team owner] Peter [Seidler], [general manager] AJ [Preller], 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."

Tatis took responsibility for the positive test and noted that he will not appeal, meaning he is out for the remainder of the 2022 season.

The 23-year-old superstar shortstop and outfielder had already missed the entire 2022 season to this point because of a wrist injury suffered during the offseason.

General manager A.J. Preller suggested that the injury was the result of a motorcycle accident, although the Padres and Tatis never officially declared that to be the case.

After Tatis was suspended Friday, Preller expressed disappointment in Tatis and his perceived lack of maturity, saying:

"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 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."

Padres pitchers Mike Clevinger and Joe Musgrove echoed Preller's sentiments Saturday, per Lin.

Clevinger said the suspension was the "second time we've been disappointed with [Tatis]," and Musgrove added that Tatis has to "start showing a little bit of remorse" for his actions.

The Padres went all-in at the trade deadline, dealing many of their top prospects for Soto and first baseman Josh Bell, as well as closer Josh Hader in a separate trade with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Tatis was expected to return and give the Padres one of MLB's most potent lineups down the stretch along with Soto, Machado, Bell, Jake Cronenworth and others.

That won't be the case, meaning the Padres are now tasked with reaching the playoffs and going on a run without a player who hit 42 home runs and finished third in the National League MVP voting last season.

Entering play Saturday, the Padres owned the final wild-card spot in the NL with a 64-51 record, two games ahead of the Brewers.