Has to be a bit crushing to KNOW that pretty much no matter what he does with the rest of his career, the Hall is probably out of reach at 23.

If I were him, I'd be more concerned that the Padres might void his massive contract.

Is #1 a meta joke? I can't tell anymore.

The bullshit excuse that makes no sense because the agent obviously looked up the wrong drug is <chefs kiss>

Re: 4 - "Curses, foiled by autocorrect!!"

Maybe they can sue Google . . . that seems like the logical next step.

This has been a bad week for the Padres.

The GM quotes I saw elsewhere were--I thought--highly unusual, even given the circumstances, and did much more than hint at a fractured relationship between the FO and the player. (Which is understandable given the off-season injury and now this.)

I'm fairly sure the contract can't be voided. But the GM comments made me wonder if they might try to move him down the line, especially (perhaps) if they manage to keep Soto. Of course, they'd have to hope he re-established his baseline level, hope he remained injury-free, and (probably) cover a fair % of the contract to move him but... Reading those GM quotes made me think it's on the table within the next year or two.

In one way, I am somewhat perplexed that he'd do this considering he already had the huge contract already. He was years away from being a free agent and this move would make it more likely that'd he get less money than more, i.e. risk of suspension greater than signing fo any more money.

Obviously, the desire to perform well is great and that might be all the motivation that is needed.

I think this settles it: not the brightest bulb in the room.

In one way, I am somewhat perplexed that he'd do this considering he already had the huge contract already. He was years away from being a free agent and this move would make it more likely that'd he get less money than more, i.e. risk of suspension greater than signing fo any more money.

This assumes that Tatis is a rational thinker or has a functioning support system keeping him in check. There is mounting evidence that he is a reckless idiot and no one is keeping him in check.

Let's remember Tatis was also involved with the woman that went after Bauer

A clear-thinker, he is not

I wonder how this impacts signing Soto. If you were Soto would you want this unknown on your team. Geared up for a pennant run and poof, he disappears

#2 Pretty sure they can't. At least not based on older precedents. There's a penalty for failing a drug test. Teams don't get to add to it.

I assume that he doesn't get any salary for the time served under the suspension.
I do not know if he got docked any pay for losing time to a non-baseball-related injury.

He's only 23. He might not be the brightest bulb, but he was a joy to watch on the baseball field. Maybe the combination of these two things will engender a turnaround. Garry Templeton comes to mind - he was troubled enough as a young player the Cardinals traded him to the Padres for a two-year-older Ozzie Smith, a trade which judged on pure talent alone would probably be judged in the Padres favor - yet he revamped his attitude and despite significant injury trouble was a key contributor to the Padres mid-1980's success. We can only hope Tatis follows Templeton's lead. I wonder if the Padres at this point might reach out to Templeton as a possible mentor to Tatis.

I don’t see why 1 would be considered a joke. He didn’t assert that Tatis is gonna be a HoFer on merit or that it’s conclusively out even if he puts up 10-15 more seasons at his established level. Even if he never tests positive again, based on the way that the voters have judged PEDs thus far, he “probably” wouldn’t make it.

That said, in addition to the general voters’ standards changing, this is a very unique case. If Tatis does go the rest of his career without any additional failed tests, it will be pretty easy to chalk this one up to an honest mistake. Then we will really see how zero tolerance the electorate is. But of course, Tatis will have to be the player he was before this (or greater) for a very long time for this to matter and even if he never was performance enhanced, that’s still gonna be hard.

I live in SoCal and root for the Padres against everyone except my childhood team; I was very happy about the Soto deal and so I am very disappointed about this. Back when I was a young baseball nerd instead of an old one, I played Roto/Fantasy intensely and I had Tatis Sr. on my team for three years who, while not as gifted as Jr. was a talented player in his own right, and like Jr. seemed kind of flakey and irresponsible. I think that may be a thing here, if you look at other Dad/Son combos, like Boones/Bells/Griffeys/Bondses.

This is starting to look like possibly the worst free agent signing ever, at this rate.

It's been just 18 months since he was locked down for FOURTEEN years and he's been on the Disabled List four times, including one that was just him being stupid and required surgery. And now he's been suspended for half a season because he popped for PEDs.

Was it an honest mistake? Maybe, maybe not. Doesn't matter. Another honest mistake or actual PED usage will get him a full-year suspension. At least on a 2nd violation the Padres won't have to pay him half of his salary during that time.

Anyway, there are LOTS of retail substances that will trigger a PED failure and it's not unreasonable to worry that Tatis will make another stupid mistake. Why does Tatis not have the Padres literally validate everything he puts in his body? They would be happy to do that.

Tatis is an incredible talent but this contract is looking more and more like a train wreck.

Fine, you can have James Shields back and we’ll take this guy back if you pay most of his salary.

I don’t see why 1 would be considered a joke.

I believe #3 is referring to the propensity of many BBTF player threads to quickly turn into a discussion of the subject’s Hall of Fame chances.

Ah, I see. Makes sense.

Maybe it is an overplayed topic here, but I do find it very interesting (if not premature and pointless) to ponder the impact on this particular player’s perception going forward given that he’s been so good at such a young age and that he’s the biggest profile player to get suspended since Cano. Obviously Cano was too old to rehab his image, but Tatis seemingly has a ton of time to do so. It’s just almost unbelievable how badly the last year has gone for him.

If not HoF chances, one has to wonder the impact this may have on other teams signing their young stars.

Let's remember Tatis was also involved with the woman that went after Bauer

Duke, what the heck is that? What are you implying?

I'm implying he has bad judgment. Let's see

He's hanging out with, what appears to be, baseball Annies
He's taking steroids
He's doing things in the offseason to damage his body
And who knows what else


You can do all those things and get away with them but sooner or later, it likely catches up with you one way or another

It caught up to Bumgarner and he's a shell of his former self. It caught up with Oscar Taveras in a very bad way.

It caught up to Bumgarner

Now this, I know nothing about. Is this in reference to him competing in rodeos?

Bumgarner always struck me as someone who "looked 30 when he was 20", which can really help you dominate very young, but may lead to a premature decline phase (see Albert Pujols, and in basketball, Greg Oden, though in this latter case that was more about injuries). Many athletes mature early, it's what allows them to say, dominate Little League and High School, which leads to further opportunities down the road. In Bumgarner's case it seemed even more accelerated. There was just never anything "youthful" about Bumgarner.

#23 I assume he is referring to this: Madison Bumgarner Not Expected to Need Surgery for Dirt Bike Accident Injuries

Obviously Cano was too old to rehab his image

I thought that's why he went to the Padres earlier this season.

Perhaps the two of them grew too close in their short time as teammates.

#17 ... not a FA signing.

one has to wonder the impact this may have on other teams signing their young stars.

Zero.

But the GM comments made me wonder if they might try to move him down the line

The contract was always designed to move him down the line. He doesn't make more than $20 M until 2027; he doesn't make more than $25 M until 2029. $220 M of the total $340 is paid in the last 6 years. The plan was always to flip the end of that contract while hopefully paying as little of it as possible. Granted, they might now be looking to move the contract ASAP.

Zero

You’re probably right, but I don’t know how we’d ever be certain. It doesn’t seem completely implausible that Tatis’s antics would give some franchises (or owners more specifically) some pause before locking up their very young superstars. Obviously that’s dependent on their individual personalities too.

And that’s also not to imply that Tatis is a finished product. I wouldn’t want to draw any conclusions about a 23 year old making a series of boneheaded mistakes. But if this trajectory does continue, his contract will be a cautionary tale, in the media anyway. Whether that influences front offices and owners is anyone’s guess, but they are only human. Contracts of that scale are an organizational decision with a lot of stakeholders and all it takes is one person’s concerns to influence it, again especially if that person is an owner.

Maybe it is an overplayed topic here, but I do find it very interesting (if not premature and pointless) to ponder the impact on this particular player’s perception going forward given that he’s been so good at such a young age

The odds are always fairly bad for any young star to make the Hof; #### happens. I would think Tatis odds are much, much worse now. Four injuries in less than two years, and apparently having a 10 cent brain, to go with his $300M talent, makes me think he's a good 10:1 against.

Snapper: its not a bad estimate but I'm curious as to wot ur estimate would be before this year?

DeGrom losing it, his ERA is over 2.00

Snapper: its not a bad estimate but I'm curious as to wot ur estimate would be before this year?

Before the latest injury and suspension? Maybe 4:1 against?