Padres Swap Out Fernando Tatis Jr. Bobblehead Night After PED Scandal

Fernando Tatis Jr. is going to have to earn back the trust of the Padres organization.

Earlier in the week, it was revealed that Tatis was going on the 80 game suspension list after testing positive for an illegal PED during injury rehab.

In the aftermath, several people inside the San Diego organization called on the star shortstop to act with some more maturity.

Fernando Tatis Suspension: Shortstop Called Out By AJ Preller, Teammates After Taking PEDshttps://t.co/zhkZyzzM9o

— SideAction (@SideActionHQ) August 13, 2022

After the PED situation, the Padres made the decision to scrap Fernando Tatis Jr’s upcoming bobblehead night at the stadium. Instead, they’ll be giving away t-shirt of their newest star, Juan Soto.

“The Padres will announce today that the Sept. 7 Fernando Tatis Jr. bobblehead giveaway has been changed to a Juan Soto City Connect shirsey giveaway,” Padres insider Kevin Acee tweeted out earlier today.

The Padres will announce today that the Sept. 7 Fernando Tatis Jr. bobblehead giveaway has been changed to a Juan Soto City Connect shirsey giveaway.

— Kevin Acee (@sdutKevinAcee) August 16, 2022

After the suspension, Fernando Tatis Jr. blamed “ringworm” for taking the illegal substance.

“It turns out that I inadvertently took a medication to treat ringworm that contained Clostebol. I should have used the resources available to me in order to ensure that no banned substances were in what I took. I failed to do so.

“I want to apologize to [team owner] Peter [Seidler], [general manager] AJ [Preller], the entire Padres organization, my teammates, Major League Baseball and fans everywhere for my mistake. I have no excuse for my error, and I would never do anything to cheat or disrespect this game I love. I have taken countless drug tests throughout my professional career, including on March 29, 2022, all of which have returned negative results until this test.”

The Padres are really going to need Juan Soto to step up in Fernando Tatis Jr’s absence.

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