San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. has successfully moved from shortstop to right field in 2023, at least on paper. However, his offensive numbers have declined some, and one analyst does not think that is coincidence.
ESPN analyst Eduardo Perez suggested during the “Sunday Night Baseball” broadcast that he felt Tatis was not playing with the same brashness and confidence that he did in the first part of his career. To Perez, moving from shortstop to right field had a somewhat negative effect, as did Tatis being moved out of the leadoff spot in the lineup.
“Playing shortstop, you’re in the play, you’re the captain of that infield, that’s the elite position,” Perez said. “He was an elite player with serious numbers at shortstop. When he signed that major deal, it’s because he was a shortstop, not a right fielder. Now he’s had to learn a new position. Not only that, he’s also not leading off, and I think he identified with being that guy, the leadoff, the spark plug. Those two toys, shortstop and leadoff, have been taken away from him.”
Defensively, Tatis has been fine in right field, and has flashed one of the best arms in the sport. However, he is hitting a fairly modest .262 with 19 home runs in 92 games. Those are not bad numbers, but considering Tatis hit .293 in his first three MLB seasons with 42 home runs in 2021, they represent a step down.
Of course, Tatis missed 2022 because of injuries and off-field matters that seemed to frustrate the Padres organization. That could certainly impact a player’s confidence as well.
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