Fernando Tatis Jr. of the San Diego Padres jogs around the bases after hitting a home run during a spring training game against the Los Angeles Angels on March 24, 2023 at the Tempe Diablo Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres/Getty Images)
Staff Reports
World Baseball Network
Fernando Tatis Jr. smacked three home runs in a game with Triple-A El Paso last night, as he prepares to return to Major League Baseball following an 80-game suspension for performance enhancing drugs.
He went 5-for-6 with three homers, including a 451-foot moonshot, a double, and eight RBI as the El Paso Chihuahuas topped the Albuquerque Isotopes 19-6.
Tatis is eligible to play in Triple-A because he is rehabbing shoulder and wrist injuries that, combined with the suspension, have kept him out of MLB action since the end of the 2021 season. He’s expected to return to the Padres lineup next Thursday.
When Tatis returns, it will be in right field, where he’s been playing with El Paso. The former shortstop was forced to move when the Padres signed Xander Bogaerts to an 11-year, $280 million dollar contract over the offseason.
San Diego appeared in the National League Championship Series last season after going 89-73 during the regular season. They’ve posted a 7-7 record so far during the 2023 regular season.