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Fernando Tatis Jr., who is expected to return to the Padres on Thursday, had another big game on Saturday night as part of his rehab assignment with San Diego’s Triple-A affiliate, the El Paso Chihuahuas. Tatis followed up his three-home run performance on Thursday with two more home runs in a four-hit show against the Albuquerque Isotopes.
The 24-year old Tatis hit in his first three at bats before grounding out in the sixth. Prior to that groundout, he had had a hit in eight consecutive at bats. That stretch included six extra-base hits (including five for home runs) and 10 runs batted in. Tatis started on Saturday-evening by hitting .478/.586/1.087 in his 29 at bats so far.
Tatis, who played right again on Saturday, is nearing completion of an 80-game suspension brought on by a failed performance-enhancing drug test. (In an odd way, last year’s Padres playoff games counted toward his suspension, which hastened his return.) He’s allowed to play in rehab games because he’s also coming back from wrist and shoulder surgeries. The combination of the suspension and those injuries means he has been unable to appear in a regular season game since October 2021.
The Padres lineup has since undergone significant changes. Outfielder Juan Soto was acquired from the Washington Nationals last July and short stop Xander Bogaerts was signed this winter. The addition of the latter means that Tatis will likely spend most of his time in the outfield, where he can use his speed to achieve good range and reduce his tendency to uncork wild pitches.
The Padres, 8-8 in the young season, close their series against the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday. They will host the Atlanta Braves for three games to open the new week before heading to Arizona — with Tatis in tow — to begin a four-game set against the Diamondbacks on Thursday.
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