Padres change Tatis Jr. bobblehead night after PED ban

San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

Padres change Fernando Tatis Jr. bobblehead night after PED suspension

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 8/16/22

The 80-game suspension that San Diego Padres All-Star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. received ahead of this past weekend for violating MLB's performance-enhancing drug policy, a ban that left former New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez "heartbroken," continues to generate headlines this week.

According to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN), the Padres originally had a Tatis bobblehead night scheduled for Sept. 7 when they welcome the Arizona Diamondbacks to town. Tatis, of course, won't be available to play in that game, so the Padres announced Tuesday they will instead have a Juan Soto T-shirt giveaway that evening:

The Juan Soto City Connect Shirt giveaway takes the place of the originally scheduled bobblehead giveaway on September 7. If you already have tickets for 9/7 and are one of the first 35,000 fans to enter @PetcoPark, you will receive the new giveaway item.
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 16, 2022

The Padres acquired Soto, a two-time All-Star outfielder, from the Washington Nationals ahead of the Aug. 2 trade deadline after the 23-year-old reportedly rejected a 15-year, $440 million contract extension from his former club.

Tatis hadn't yet made his season debut before Friday's development because he was recovering from surgery he required in March to repair a fractured wrist. He explained in a statement released Friday he "inadvertently" took the banned substance that resulted in the positive test, and Jenna Lemoncelli of the New York Post noted Tuesday morning that Fernando Tatis Sr. claimed in an interview that his son "got a fungus due to a haircut" and used the medication Trofobol, which contains an anabolic steroid.

More must-reads: