For the primary time in 565 days, Fernando Tatis Jr. will step out on a Main League Baseball discipline in uniform Thursday night time. Tatis will rejoin the San Diego Padres for his or her sequence opener in opposition to the Arizona Diamondbacks upon the completion of his 80-game performance-enhancing drug suspension. He has not performed an MLB sport because the closing day of the 2021 season.
“I am really sorry. I’ve let so many individuals down. I’ve misplaced a lot love from folks. I’ve failed,” Tatis stated quickly after the suspension was introduced. “I will keep in mind what this seems like, and I am not going to place myself on this place ever once more.”Â
Tatis is already with the Padres. He is spent the previous couple of days understanding with the crew, although league guidelines stipulate suspended gamers can’t be on the premises for video games; to stick to the e book, he needed to depart the stadium earlier than first pitch. “We’ll simply attempt to bubble wrap him, get him to Arizona, and he’ll be in that first sport there,” Padres supervisor Bob Melvin instructed MLB.com earlier this week.
Tatis and the Padres are tentatively scheduled to face D-Backs right-hander Ryne Nelson in Thursday’s four-game sequence opener. Nelson made his MLB debut final season and thus has by no means confronted Tatis. The 25-year-old has allowed seven runs in 17 innings throughout three begins within the early going this season. Tatis is a .405/.456/.918 hitter in 13 profession video games at Chase Area.
Here is what it’s worthwhile to know in regards to the Padres and Tatis main into his return to MLB motion Thursday.
1. Tatis is getting back from greater than a PED suspension
The PED suspension will get all of the headlines and understandably so — Tatis will likely be booed on the street in every single place he goes and he introduced that on himself — however he isn’t simply getting back from the 80-game ban. He had two left wrist surgical procedures and left shoulder surgical procedure final 12 months. It wasn’t till this January that Tatis was cleared for full baseball actions.Â
Right here is the timeline of Tatis’ accidents:
- December 2021: Tatis injures left wrist in bike accident.
- March 16, 2022: Surgical procedure to restore a damaged left wrist.
- Sept. 2, 2022: Surgical procedure to restore the labrum in his left shoulder.
- Oct. 17, 2022: Second surgical procedure to additional stabilize the left wrist.
Take into accout the bike accident occurred in the course of the owner-initiated lockout, when groups and their medical personnel had been forbidden from speaking with gamers. It was initially reported Tatis suffered solely “minor scrapes” within the accident. It was not till the lockout ended on March 12 that the Padres might totally look at Tatis, and the damaged wrist was found.
“Nothing loopy, I believed it was one thing we might work by,” Tatis stated after it was introduced he would have surgical procedure. “It is horrible. I really feel like everyone’s disenchanted, particularly me.”
Tatis did start a minor league rehab task final August. He performed in 4 Double-A video games, went 2 for 9 with a double and a triple, then was hit together with his 80-game PED suspension on Aug. 12. After the suspension was introduced, Tatis determined to have his troublesome shoulder repaired, and the wrist additional stabilized.
“We had been anticipating him to be able to go for spring coaching,” Padres GM A.J. Preller stated following the second wrist surgical procedure. “The timing of the shoulder surgical procedure and the wrist follow-up surgical procedure ought to line up with the identical timeline. He ought to be capable to go for spring coaching.”
2. He mashed throughout his Triple-A rehab task
Gamers serving PED suspensions are allowed to play in minor league tune-up video games main into their return and in Tatis’ case, his minor league video games served as rehab video games following the shoulder and wrist surgical procedures. Tatis did what you’d count on an MLB celebrity to do in Triple-A: he hit .515/.590/1.212 with seven dwelling runs, six walks, and three strikeouts in eight video games.
At one level this previous weekend Tatis hit six dwelling runs within the span of 12 at-bats. His contact high quality (exit velocity, and so forth.) has been distinctive as nicely. If nothing else, that implies the shoulder and wrist really feel good. Tatis appears to be like very able to step again into the MLB lineup and produce.
“He must rise up right here ASAP. I’ve by no means seen something like that,” Padres backup catcher Brett Sullivan, who performed with Tatis in Triple-A earlier than getting known as up this previous weekend, instructed MLB.com. “You guys are in for one thing particular when he comes again. He is prepared.”Â
As a result of suspensions solely cowl the common season and postseason, Tatis was eligible to play in spring coaching, and he carried out nicely in Cactus League video games: .273/.340/.432 with two homers in 16 video games. All instructed, Tatis will be a part of the Padres this week with 89 plate appearances underneath his belt between spring coaching and Triple-A.
It ought to be famous that as a result of Tatis spent 2018 in Double-A earlier than making San Diego’s Opening Day roster in 2019, these eight video games earlier this month had been his Triple-A debut. Tatis skipped proper over Triple-A from 2018-19.
“It is nice for El Paso,” Chihuahuas GM Brad Taylor instructed the El Paso Instances earlier this month. “… It is nice to have him right here in a Chihuahuas uniform on his path again to the Padres.”
3. Tatis has a brand new place
With the final 5 months the Padres have signed Xander Bogaerts, Manny Machado, and Jake Cronenworth to long-term contracts. The infield is full, and because of this, Tatis is transferring to proper discipline. He has performed the place briefly up to now (20 video games in 2021), however this can be a everlasting transfer. Tatis didn’t play even a single inning at brief in spring coaching or in Triple-A.
“I really feel like I am nonetheless gonna impression the sport rather a lot that means, controlling the sport from proper discipline,” Tatis instructed the San Diego Union-Tribune not too long ago. “I am positively wanting ahead to it. You do not actually see many outfielders who’ve a very good arm anymore. I am making an attempt to be a type of guys. I imply, 30 out of 30 proper fielders within the huge leagues used to have a cannon. They’d management the sport on the again finish. I could be a type of guys.”
Reality be instructed, proper discipline is the place Tatis belongs. His throwing from brief could possibly be erratic, and he can higher use his velocity to trace down balls within the outfield than at shortstop. The bat is sweet sufficient to profile wherever. His inexperience in proper discipline will pop up from time to time — the sport has a means of discovering you — however he has the athleticism and instruments to be nice on the market.
4. The Padres really want Tatis
Regardless of their huge payroll and all their star energy, the Padres haven’t precisely torn the quilt off the ball this season. They got here into Wednesday ranked twenty fifth among the many 30 groups with 3.79 runs scored per sport, and 6 occasions of their 9 video games they have been held to 2 runs or fewer. The Padres as a crew are hitting .224/.309/.384.Â
Moreover, the Padres have already began 4 totally different gamers in proper discipline of their 19 video games (José Azocar, David Dahl, Brandon Dixon, Rougned Odor) and people 4 gamers have hit a mixed .170/.210/.220 with out a dwelling run. That .430 OPS ranks twenty ninth among the many 30 groups in proper discipline, higher than solely the Royals (.358) Going from that to Tatis, even with some readjustment to the majors, is an enormous, huge improve.
“It is nonetheless early within the season. We’ve got a deep lineup. We’ll rating runs. We’ve got the flexibility to at occasions blow groups out,” Padres supervisor Bob Melvin instructed The Athletic final week. “We even have Fernando Tatis coming as nicely, so fairly quickly, it is going to lengthen our lineup some.”
Melvin has already stated he intends to return Tatis to his regular leadoff spot, so he would be the first batter in Thursday’s sport. That is the highest of the lineup Melvin plans to make use of as soon as Tatis rejoins the crew:
- RF Fernando Tatis Jr.
- LF Juan Soto
- SS Xander Bogaerts or 3B Manny Machado
- Bogaerts or Machado
Fairly good! On paper, that is likely one of the most fearsome high of the orders in baseball. That stated, issues have probably not clicked but for San Diego. They’re hoping Tatis sparks them a bit.
It is truthful to query how productive Tatis will likely be after a PED suspension (once more, he introduced these questions on himself), although there’s mainly no historical past of prime-aged stars getting back from a PED suspension in a diminished state. Large identify gamers who dropped off following a PED suspension had been already nearing the top of their careers, like Robinson Canó and Alex Rodriguez.
Tatis turned simply 24 in January and he slashed .282/.364/.611 with 25 stolen bases and a Nationwide League main 42 dwelling runs in solely 130 video games in 2021. That earned him a third-place end within the MVP voting. He has been an MVP degree performer since Day 1 within the huge leagues. If Tatis does come again diminished, it might have extra to do with the surgical procedures than PEDs.