Steve Webb
LOS ANGELES, CA — Holy cow! Or holy whatever you care to say. This is huge. In an announcement that completely changes the landscape of the NL playoff picture, the league announced today that Padres superstar Fernando Tatis Jr. has been suspended for 80 games without pay after testing positive for Clostebol, a banned performance-enhancing substance.
Tatis has just started a rehab assignment in the minors and was looking at a return to the Padres active roster. This, of course, changes things. In the wake of the bombshell 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.”
This of course does not mean that the Padres are dead ducks. They still have the inside track on a Wild Card spot, holding a one-game lead over the Milwaukee Brewers. However, the hope that the Soto and Bell signings must have ignited among the Friars faithful has got to be washed out a bit.
Not sure what Tatis was thinking. Maybe he thought the PED would help hasten his return. But whatever his thought process, he will be spending the rest of 2022 on the outside looking in.
First the motorcycle accident and now this. An entire season lost due to one player’s own stupidity. Poor Padres! Hoist by their own petard once again!
