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San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug and was suspended for 80 games, a penalty ending his 2022 season, Major League Baseball announced Friday.
In a statement, the 23-year-old shortstop said he accidentally treated tinea with a drug containing the banned substance clostebol, and after initially appealing the verdict, he decided to drop the appeal.
“I should have used the resources at my disposal to make sure there were no prohibited substances in what I was consuming. I failed,” Tatis said in his statement. “I have no excuses for my mistake and I would never do anything to cheat or disrespect this game that I love.”
Tatis has not appeared in a game this season due to a wrist injury sustained in an off-season motorcycle accident. He will not be eligible to play for the Padres should they make it through the postseason. San Diego is 16 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West but would own the newly created third NL wildcard spot when the season ends Friday.
“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 was subsequently suspended for 80 games without pay,” they said Padre’s statement. “We fully support the program and hope Fernando will learn from this experience.”
League policy is that clubs are not notified of a player’s positive test until the day that player is placed on the banned list. As such, the Padres were unaware that Tatis had tested positive when they hammered out a franchise-altering deal to acquire Juan Soto from the Washington Nationals at the close of trade.
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Back then, that deal looked like a boon for a team that was struggling hard with young superstar Tatis and preparing to return to stretch after injury. In hindsight, Soto and Josh Bell will replace much-needed production as the Padres try to pull off the long October run they and general manager AJ Preller have been aiming for for most of the past decade.
Now Soto and Bell will anchor a Padres lineup that still includes Manny Machado, a formidable Heart of Order who seemed poised to be dominant all the way through but just hasn’t been: San Diego is 3-5 since Trading for Soto, including a sweep in the hands of the Dodgers last week.
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When Tatis was healthy in the big leagues, he was explosive. Last season, he led the league with 42 home runs at the age of 22, despite a shoulder injury. He was an MVP candidate in the 2020 season shortened by the pandemic.
But after battling the shoulder problem in late 2021, Tatis returned from lockout with a new problem, one his team couldn’t solve while the players negotiated a new collective agreement: he had broken his wrist in a motorcycle accident. His return had come more slowly than some had hoped, but it seemed likely to arrive soon. He won’t return until 2023.
This is an evolving story that has been updated.