Pedro Martinez’s take on Fernando Tatis Jr. PED suspension is really dumb

Pedro Martinez had the worst take on Fernando Tatis Jr’s PED suspension, putting the blame on the Padres for not micromanaging the star player.

Pedro Martinez may have delivered a lot of great pitches in his career, but he’s not perfect when dishing out takes as a studio analyst for TBS.

In the wake of Fernando Tatis Jr. receiving an 80-game suspension for violating MLB’s performance-enhancing drug policy, Martinez would have been better off saying nothing rather than dropping his take on the matter.

Martinez admitted he’d give Tatis Jr. a pass on one level: The Padres are to blame.

Pedro Martinez’s take on Fernando Tatis Jr. PED suspension is really dumb

Early in the segment, Martinez did go in on Tatis saying he had “no excuses” and that he was “extremely disappointed” by him.

Then he went the opposite way and said he would give Tatis “a pass.”

“This is where I have to give him a pass because San Diego should have known what this kid is putting on his body,” Martinez said.

Tatis is a 23-year-old man who was mature enough to sign a 14-year, $340 million contract extension with the Padres. He’s been a major league pro since 2019. As Martinez said himself, he knows the PED policy. San Diego shouldn’t have to babysit him and micromanage everything he touches.

If he was indeed in need of treatment for ringworm, the first thing he should have done is clear whatever substances he wanted to use with the Padres.

That’s it. End of story. San Diego’s obligation here was to provide resources for figuring out what is and isn’t safe to take. Those resources were available to Tatis. He clearly didn’t use them.

Martinez almost got it right by telling Tatis he had no excuse. He missed the mark badly when he then pushed a Tatis excuse.