The San Diego Padres have been making near-daily lineup changes, and the latest had Tatis at second base last night.
The San Diego Padres don’t really have a backup second baseman, so they decided to solve the problem with one of the most out-of-the-box moves in recent memory as they gave Fernando Tatis Jr. the start last night agains the Colorado Rockies.
According to AJ Cassavell of MLB.com, the Padres have talked to Tatis about doing this before. Tatis has only made one appearance at second in his pro career, and that happened back in 2023 in a late-September game. Tatis did break in as a shortstop before he moved to the outfield, and he did make ten starts in the minors at second base, Cassavell added.
The move worked, basically. Tatis caught a popup in the fifth, fielded a grounder in the sixth and turned a double play in the seventh. He finished the game by catching another popup for the last out, and all of the plays were routine.
“He looked like a normal everyday second baseman,” said manager Craig Stammen. “With a rocket arm on a double play.”
Tatis filled in because infielder Sung-Mun Song is currently out with an oblique strain, and Cassavell added that Ty France is capable of playing second, but not well. The Padres wanted to give shortstop Xander Bogaerts a day off, so regular second baseman Jake Cronenworth shifted over to short.
“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.”
This could easily turn into one of those “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should” moves if Tatis gets hurt or makes a bad play, but Stammen doesn’t see it that way.
“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.”
Fortunately, Song is in the middle of a rehab assignment at El Paso, so this won't happen often. But there may be an ulterior motive here, as Tatis has been scuffling offensively, so the thought process might be that getting him into the middle of the infield also helps him get untracked, especially given Tatis' recent comment 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.”
Whether this is an unnatural change that could backfire or a fun challenge that could help Tatis is up for debate, but Tatis did spice up that debate by going 3-for-4 for his first multi-hit game of the young season.