Here's why Tatis at 2B actually makes sense

This story was excerpted from AJ Cassavell’s Padres Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

SAN DIEGO -- About three hours before almost every home game, the Padres’ infielders take the dirt at Petco Park and go through a series of drills -- routine grounders, plays at the plate, double plays. Pretty standard stuff.

For years, Fernando Tatis Jr. has taken part in those sessions -- even after his full-time move to the outfield. He did so infrequently in 2023, when he was first making that transition. It was also infrequent in ‘24, while he dealt with injury.

But last year, it became commonplace again. And this year, it was nearly every day.

I have the privilege of getting to watch these sessions, and I’ll say this: Tatis clearly loves it.

Even if he’s fully embraced his role as an outfielder. Even if he’s not jockeying for any sort of long-term switch back to the infield. He just … loves it.

“Just the quick action, the quick chances, staying on my feet,” Tatis said. “All of that.”

I think that’s an important aspect of all this. Tatis made his return to the infield on Saturday, starting at second base, seemingly out of nowhere. He made every play that came his way -- four of them, all relatively routine.

“Yeah,” Tatis said with a wide grin on Sunday morning. “Looked clean last night.”

A day later, he was back at second base for Round 2.

To be clear: Tatis is not going to be the Padres’ regular second baseman. But right now, they think he’s their best option to back up at the position, with Sung-Mun Song currently on the injured list. The Padres don’t have another obvious backup at second -- where Jake Cronenworth starts regularly, though he slides to short when Xander Bogaerts needs time off.

“[Tatis] is going to play right field most days,” said manager Craig Stammen. “But when Xander needs a day off or when Jake needs a day off, he’s probably our best option to play second base at the moment.”

Makes sense. And it probably shouldn’t be all that big a deal.

Except, well, it’s Tatis. And there’s history here.

Tatis, of course, came up as a shortstop. He was solid enough defensively at short. But there were major injury concerns for Tatis with everyday reps at one of the sport’s most demanding positions. Plus, it wasn’t always clean. Despite his cannon for a right arm, Tatis made his share of throwing errors as a shortstop.

That’s not to say Tatis couldn’t have blossomed into an excellent infielder. The reality was just … as much as anything, the Padres envisioned Tatis as a truly elite outfielder. And were they ever correct on that front?

Tatis made the switch, full-time, after the Padres signed Bogaerts prior to the 2023 season. Sure enough, he’s won two Platinum Glove Awards in his three seasons in right field. (You could argue he’s 2-for-2 in Platinum Gloves, given that his only season as an outfielder without one came while he nursed a stress reaction in his leg, which clearly limited his abilities.)

Tatis has mastered right field. And if he wanted to stay put in right field exclusively, he’d probably have stayed put. But Tatis loves his roots in the infield. And he loves a challenge.

“It’s probably a little bit -- I don’t want to say I’m more focused -- but it’s just more quick action in there,” Tatis said. “You’ve got double plays. You’ve got people on first, people on second. You just get more involved.”

Here’s the reality about elite defenders: They’re usually elite defenders anywhere you put them. Jackson Merrill was a solid shortstop. He learned center field on the fly with literally no past experience there. Mookie Betts, like Tatis, was also a Gold Glover in right field. He’s now starting at shortstop in Los Angeles.

Tatis is one of the best athletes in baseball. His range is elite. He generally gets fantastic reads and great jumps off the bat. And his arm -- while it’s probably better suited for right field than the infield -- is among the best around. His double-play turn on Saturday clocked in at 84.8 mph. (Per Statcast, it was the third hardest throw from a second baseman on a double play since the start of last season.)

Stammen mentioned Saturday that perhaps playing a new position would free up Tatis offensively, after his slow start. I think that notion is a bit overblown. (But I can’t really argue with the results; Tatis went 5-for-9 with a walk in his two games at second.) This is mostly about defense and roster construction.

If your goal is to maximize Tatis’ glove, then you play him in the outfield. Obviously. But if your goal is to maximize your roster -- and you want to give your middle infielders some time off every now and then -- then maybe you play Tatis at second a few times each month. If it helps him relax at the plate, even better.

So long as you have buy-in from Tatis, the whole plan is sensible. And Tatis bought in immediately when Stammen first broached the subject with him during the offseason -- even if the idea felt a bit far-fetched at the time.

“I didn’t quite believe it,” Tatis said. “But here we are.”