Fernando Tatis Jr. is getting set for his return to the San Diego Padres lineup, which means a change is in store for Juan Soto.
Tatis had been tearing the cover off the ball at Triple-A while waiting out his 80-game suspension for violating the league’s performance-enhancing policy. It appears he's ready to return to major league action, as he has homered six times over the last three games.
Tatis rejoined the Padres on Monday and is eligible to begin playing again on Thursday. He will likely step into the leadoff spot in the Padres’ lineup and play right field. His presence also means that Soto will likely change spots in the lineup.
The two-time All-Star has mostly been batting third for the Padres, but with Tatis in the leadoff spot, he will likely move up to second in the order. The Padres left fielder has made it clear that his preference is to bat third, but he understands hitting second makes the most sense in San Diego’s lineup.
“I’m fine with that,” Soto said of the potential change, via The Athletic. “They explained it to me in spring training. They want two righties behind me so they don’t bring in a lefty for me. I like the plan.”
The Padres will likely have Tatis, Soto, Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts and Jake Cronenworth as their 1 through 5 hitters. That would easily give them one of the best lineups in MLB and space out lefties Soto and Cronenworth to theoretically make it harder for opponents to go with lefty-lefty matchups against them.
San Diego entered play on Monday with an 8-9 record. They have a three-game home series against the Braves before getting Tatis back for a four-game series at Arizona.
More must-reads: