MLB suspends San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. for 80 games due to performance-enhancing drugs

Major League Baseball this week suspended San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis, Jr., after it said a drug test administered to him came back positive for performance-enhancing drugs.

Tatis “has received an 80-game suspension without pay after testing positive for Clostebol, a performance-enhancing substance in violation of Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program,” MLB said in a press release.

The San Diego Padres said in a followup statement that they were “surprised and extremely disappointed” to learn of the positive test result but that they support the Program and are hopeful that Fernando will learn from this experience.”

Tatis, Jr., meanwhile, said he would accept the suspension sentence but that the positive drug test was the result of an “inadvertent” ingestion of Clostebol in order to treat ringworm. 

"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," he said in a statement.