SAN DIEGO – Fernando Tatis Jr. spent his Friday out locally, visiting youngsters at a neighborhood elementary faculty and spending time with members of the US Marine Corps as a part of the San Diego Padres‘ goodwill tour all through town. The next morning, he was again inside Petco Park, participating in a Fan Fest occasion that was attended by tens of hundreds of the staff’s most ardent supporters, signing autographs, snapping selfies and making the media rounds.
After a whole season away — and with the cloud of a steroid suspension nonetheless hanging overhead — Tatis was again, as soon as once more a celebrated member of one of many sport’s most star-studded groups.
“I missed it so much,” Tatis stated. “I missed a yr of it, and I am not trying ahead to lacking any extra.”
Tatis, who will serve the remaining 20 video games of his 80-game suspension firstly of the 2023 common season, estimated being “90%” recovered from latest shoulder and wrist surgical procedures and has been participating in baseball actions for a few month.
The Padres’ first full-squad exercise will happen in 17 days, and Tatis plans on being a full participant from the onset.
However what place will he play?
“I gotta speak to my supervisor,” Tatis stated with fun.
The Padres went into the offseason with two premium shortstops in Tatis and Ha-Seong Kim, who supplied Gold Glove-caliber protection on the place in 2022, however they nonetheless signed free agent shortstop Xander Bogaerts to an 11-year, $280 million contract.
With Bogaerts enjoying shortstop frequently, Ha-Seong Kim is anticipating to play principally second base, which implies Jake Cronenworth will see a whole lot of time at first.
Tatis, in the meantime, tasks to be one thing of a daily in both left or proper area, with Juan Soto occupying the other nook.
“No matter it takes, I am going to do it,” stated Tatis, who has been taking each fly balls and floor balls this offseason.
Padres supervisor Bob Melvin remains to be non-committal.
“As soon as we get to spring coaching, we’ll begin shifting guys round slightly bit,” Melvin stated. “However he is able to play the outfield if we’d like him to.”
Tatis remains to be solely a month faraway from his twenty fourth birthday, with 12 years and $324 million remaining on a Padres extension that was as soon as deemed a “statue contract.” Not way back, he was broadly hailed because the forthcoming face of baseball.
Then 2022 occurred.
Tatis started spring coaching final yr recovering from a wrist harm that possible stemmed from an offseason motorbike accident, then examined optimistic for Clostebol, an artificial type of testosterone, close to the center of August, simply as he was lastly making his method again from harm.
Tatis watched from afar because the Padres made a deep postseason run, beating the New York Mets and the division-rival Los Angeles Dodgers earlier than lastly being eradicated by the Philadelphia Phillies within the Nationwide League Championship Sequence.
“That gave me a whole lot of gasoline, belief me,” Tatis stated throughout an 11-minute media scrum, half of which was performed in Spanish. “I do not wanna put an excessive amount of phrases into it. I extra simply wish to show myself within the area, simply get again to the sector with my boys. I positively miss that fireside simply being within the jungle with them.”
Bolstered by a franchise-record $240 million payroll, the 2023 Padres will boast a lineup that includes Tatis, Bogaerts, Soto and Manny Machado, their star third baseman, which will probably be backed by a pitching employees headlined by the likes of Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, Blake Snell and Josh Hader.
They will face the load of grand expectations — and one among their greatest stars will face the vitriol of opposing crowds.
“It is gonna be one of the crucial emotional years, I really feel like, in my profession,” Tatis stated of doubtless being booed on the street. “I am seeking to embrace it.”
At full well being, Tatis has confirmed to be one of the crucial electrifying gamers within the sport. In 273 video games from 2019 to 2021, he batted .292/.369/.596 with 81 house runs, 52 stolen bases and 13.6 Baseball-Reference wins above substitute, ending inside the prime 5 in NL MVP voting on two separate events.
However accidents to his again and to his shoulder plagued him early. And in latest months, Padres coaches, gamers and executives have discovered themselves questioning if they will belief him with the accountability of being the face of a franchise.
Tatis’ first step in restoring that belief got here on Aug. 23, when he spoke to his teammates and took questions from the media for the primary time since his suspension. Shortly thereafter, he opted to surgically restore the left shoulder that bothered him all through the 2021 season and likewise underwent a second process to additional restore the fractured scaphoid bone in his left wrist.
Quickly, he’ll comply to a brand new place.
Then he’ll go about regaining belief on the sector as soon as extra.
“I’ve actually realized from what occurred to me within the final yr,” Tatis stated. “I am actually trying ahead to redeeming myself.