No, it’s not a typo in the box score. Fernando Tatis Jr. was the Padres’ starting second baseman Saturday night in San Diego.
Seemingly out of nowhere, Tatis -- the two-time Platinum Glove Award-winning right fielder -- made his first career start at second base in the Padres’ 9-5 victory over the Rockies at Petco Park.
He caught a popup in the fifth inning, fielded a grounder in the sixth and turned a double play in the seventh. He ended the game by catching another popup in the ninth. All were routine plays you’d expect a second baseman to make. And Tatis made them.
“He looked like a normal everyday second baseman,” said manager Craig Stammen. “With a rocket arm on a double play.”
Where did this come from?
Tatis had made only one career appearance at second base -- late in a game on Sept. 6, 2023. He broke through in the big leagues as a shortstop before making the full-time move to the outfield in ‘23. He made all of 10 starts at second base in the Minors, and none since his first full professional season in ‘17.
Still, Saturday's decision wasn't entirely out of left field. (Or, well, right field for Tatis.)
Since his move to the outfield, Tatis has regularly taken ground balls in the infield, and the majority of those grounders have come at second base. He likes getting work at the position -- where he stays on the right side of the field, so the angles off the bat are largely the same as they are in right.
The Padres approached him with the idea in Spring Training. In recent weeks, Tatis’ reps at second base have increased. Still, there was almost no indication that he’d get to play the position in a game -- until Saturday’s lineup was announced.
The Padres don’t have an obvious backup at second base right now with Sung-Mun Song on the injured list with a left oblique strain. Ty France is capable of handling second, but not all that well.
So on Saturday, when San Diego wanted to give Xander Bogaerts a day off -- meaning starting second baseman Jake Cronenworth would be sliding to short for the day -- we learned who the preferred backup second baseman is.
“Trying to figure out a way to get Jake and Xander some days off coming up,” Stammen said. “Felt like Tatis was the best option at second base. And the most fun and exciting option at second base.”
Can’t argue with that last part.
Will this last?
Almost certainly not with any regularity. Tatis is a right fielder -- perhaps the best right fielder in baseball. The Padres still view him that way.
But clearly Stammen doesn’t see any harm in moving Tatis around every once in a while.
“He’s an amazing athlete, can do about anything,” Stammen said. “That’s really all it is. We’re just really confident in who he is as a person, who he is as an athlete. You put something in front of him, he’ll be able to do anything.”
When Song returns -- and, in the midst of a rehab assignment with Triple-A El Paso, he’s probably not too far off -- he’ll become the primary backup at basically every spot in the infield except first base. For now, however, the Padres can use Nick Castellanos in right field -- where he spent nearly all of his time in Philadelphia. When Bogaerts or Cronenworth needs a day off, Stammen said, it’ll be Tatis at second.
What about Tatis’ offense?
He’d gotten off to a dreadful start, entering Saturday hitting just .189 with a .519 OPS. He’d also been supremely unlucky, at least according to the batted-ball data that tracks expected outcomes, given quality of contact. (Tatis has been hitting the ball hard, with little to show for it.)
On Friday he noted that “the baseball gods are mad at me right now.”
“Maybe him concentrating on playing second base unlocks him at the plate,” Stammen said. “He stops thinking so much about it and just uses his natural talent.”
In the context of all that, there are two ways to view Tatis’ move to second base:
1. It’s an unnecessary challenge heaped on the shoulders of a struggling superstar.
2. It’s the type of challenge Tatis might have fun with, perhaps lightening the burden he feels in relation to his struggles.
Clearly, the Padres feel strongly it’ll be the latter -- and, for whatever it’s worth, Tatis went 3-for-4 with a bases-loaded walk on Saturday night, his first multi-hit game of the season.