San Diego Padres star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. was recently suspended for 80 games for for violating Major League Baseball's Joint Drug Agreement. Major League Baseball announced Tatis tested positive for the performance-enhancing drug Clostebol, an anabolic steroid. The suspension means that Tatis will be ineligible to participate in the 2022 postseason alongside newly acquired superstar Juan Soto should the Padres secure a playoff spot.
Needless to say, the potential damage to Tatis' reputation is substantial, as is his standing with the club that not so long ago signed him to a 14-year, $340 million extension. To hear Tatis tell it, he unintentionally ingested the banned substance in an effort to treat a case of ringworm. Now, his father, Fernando Tatis Sr. -- himself a former MLB player -- is backing up this version of events, namely that his ingestion of the substance was unintentional.
During an appearance on "The Midday Show" in the Dominican Republic on Monday, Tatis Sr. said that his son used the medication Trofobol, which contains the banned substance Clostebol, to treat a case of ringworm on his neck. Via ESPN's Alden Gonzalez, Tatis Sr. also said:
"This is a catastrophe what has taken place, not just for Jr., but for all of baseball. There are millions of fans who are gonna stop watching baseball now. It's a total disappointment for Dominican fans, fans throughout the world, for something so insignificant that wasn't worth it. It's a topical. What came out positive in Jr.'s body is something that doesn't give you strength, first of all, doesn't amplify your [weight-training] regimen, that's second, doesn't have any testosterone, that's third, doesn't contain absolutely anything that would give you an edge in the game. What has occurred is a catastrophe for baseball."
Tatis Jr. will soon meet with the Padres' front office and with his teammates later in the week, presumably to explain his version of events and apologize for triggering a suspension that may do significant harm to the team's World Series hopes this season.
Tatis Jr.'s relationship with the club was already on uncertain footing after he suffered an offseason wrist injury that sidelined him for all of the 2022 season to date and may have been the result of a motorcycle accident in his native Dominican Republic. Tatis underwent surgery on the wrist in March and was on a minor-league rehab assignment when MLB announced his suspension.
