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Former Yankees Catcher Makes Major Fernando Tatis Jr. Accusation

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jake Elman | Last updated Apr 2, 2025 6:57 AM ET

Atlanta Braves All-Star outfielder Jurickson Profar joined former San Diego Padres teammate Fernando Tatis Jr. among the players recently suspended for performance-enhancing drugs.

What does one have to do with another? Just ask ex-New York Yankees catcher Erik Kratz.

Major League Baseball suspended Profar for 80 games this week after he tested positive for Chorionic Gonadotrophin (hCG), a drug that helps produce testosterone. Profar won’t return until late June at the earliest, and he’s ineligible for the postseason.

Once considered baseball’s consensus No. 1 prospect, Profar revived his career with the Padres last year. Speaking Tuesday on Foul Territory, Kratz implied the Silver Slugger’s long-awaited breakout came because he worked with Tatis and the outfielder’s father, Fernando Sr., in more ways than one.

“You went and worked on your lower half with Fernando Tatis and his dad,” Kratz said. “Just come out and be honest.

“Let everybody be honest about what happened,” Kratz added, “because everybody who has ever tested positive comes out and says what it is. And if you don’t want to say it, to me, that assumes more guilt.”

Neither Profar nor Tatis had addressed Kratz’s accusations as of Wednesday morning.

The younger Tatis tested positive for Clostebol, a medicine he said came from treating ringworm, in August 2022. Fernando Sr. played 11 major-league seasons and never failed a drug test, nor was he named in the 2007 Mitchell Report.

Profar, Tatis, and longtime MLB second baseman Robinson Canó are among the more notable players suspended for PED use over the last decade. Canó, who spent much of his career as a likely Hall of Fame candidate, served an 80-game suspension in 2018 and sat out the 2021 season following another positive test.

Profar and Tatis face a 162-game ban if they fail a second test.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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