Padres Stars Call Out Fernando Tatis Jr. After Suspension News

When MLB announced that Fernando Tatis Jr. will be suspended for 80 games for violating the league’s performance enhancing drug policy, it caught the entire industry by surprise. That includes Tatis’s Padres teammates, who were openly disappointed in the team’s shortstop.

After Friday’s game vs. Washington, San Diego players shared their reactions to the Tatis news.

“It’s the second time we’ve been disappointed with him, and you hope he grows up and learns from this and learns that it’s about more than just him right now,” pitcher Mike Clevinger said via The Athletic’s Dennis Lin.

Joe Musgrove agreed with Clevinger that Tatis has to prove to the team that he is as all in as they are.

“He’s a young kid. He’s going to learn his lessons or whatnot,” Musgrove said. “But ultimately, I think you got to start showing a little bit of remorse and you got to start showing us that you’re committed to it and you want to be here.”

The Padres were planning on adding Tatis to an already talented active roster to try and make a deep playoff run. However, as the team has won without Tatis all year because of the shortstop’s wrist injury, losing him for the remainder of the season may not be as big a hit as it could have been.

“Look at this clubhouse,” Clevinger said. “We really don’t need anybody else. It would be nice to have somebody else, but we don’t need anybody else. We got everyone we need right here.”

In place of Tatis, Ha-Seong Kim will likely remain the team’s starting shortstop for the rest of the year. In 105 games, Kim has a .699 OPS with six home runs and 40 RBIs while playing strong defense.

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