San Diego Padres star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. has been suspended for 80 games by Major League Baseball after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance.
The substance in question was Clostebol, which is on the league’s banned substance list and therefore violates the MLB Joint Drug Prevention & Treatment Program. Tatis, who has yet to appear in a game this season while recovering from a wrist injury, will now miss the remainder of the 2022 campaign and the start of next year as well.
In the wake of the announcement the Padres released the following statement: “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. We fully support the Program and are hopeful that Fernando will learn from this experience.”
Currently in the 2nd year of a 14 year $340M contract, the 23 year old is now at risk of even larger sanctions should he fail future drug tests as he will be classified as a “repeat offender”. Tatis’ contract remains fully guaranteed, while also including a full no trade clause as well.
San Diego’s hopes for a deep postseason run were fueled by their trade deadline acquisitions of closer Josh Hader and slugger Juan Soto. Mid-season additions, plus the impending return of Tatis who had recently begun a rehab assignment saw the Padres World Series odds rocket up to +1100 at many sports books this week. Those odds would have been 5th best in the majors, trailing only the Dodgers, Yankees, Astros, and Mets.
In 273 career games at the MLB level, Tatis has hit .292/.369/.569 with 81HRs, 192RBIs, and 52 stolen bases.
The 80 game suspension will be without pay.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: Ryan Casey Aguinaldo. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.