"Nobody wants his cheating a**" "They'll be back once he's back on the field hitting bombs" - MLB Twitter reacts to Adidas dropping Fernando Tatis Jr. in wake of PED suspension

The punishment is not over for Fernando Tatis Jr. The San Diego Padres superstar has now been dropped by Adidas in the wake of his 80-game suspension for violating MLB’s PED policy.

The German sportswear manufacturing giant has sponsored Tatis Jr. since 2020. A statement from a company spokesperson confirmed that the partnership is now over.

"Adidas has ended its partnership with Fernando Tatis Jr. From a spokesperson for the company: 'We believe that sport should be fair. We have a clear policy on doping and can confirm that our partnership with Fernando Tatis Jr. will not continue.'" - Alden González

Tatis Jr. was suspended by the MLB on Aug. 13 after testing positive for a banned substance called Clostebol, which is a steroid.

Tatis Jr. released a statement via MLB’s Player Association almost immediately after the news broke.

He justified the test results by saying that he had taken some medication to treat ringworm, which apparently contained the banned substance.

“I have realized my mistake was the cause of this result, and for that reason, I have decided to start serving my suspension immediately. I look forward to rejoining my teammates on the field in 2023.” - Fernando Tatis Jr.

However, his version of events has fetched him little to no sympathy at all from fans after Adidas added more salt to his wound.

Let’s not forget that Tatis Jr. is only 23. If he can manage to put this behind him and come back smashing, he won’t need to wait long before another multi-million dollar contract comes knocking.

The 80-game suspension has ruled Tatis Jr. out for the remainder of 2022 and the first 32 games of next year.

Fernando Tatis Jr. has put the Padres in a tricky spot

The good news is that the Padres, in terms of personnel this year, aren’t losing anyone due to this. They haven’t had Fernando Tatis Jr. all season anyway after he underwent surgery in March to fix a fractured wrist.

However, Tatis Jr. was expected to return in time for the postseason. His absence will likely have a bearing on the Padres’ play-off run.

That is, of course, if they make it. They are not secure by any means, having only a 2.5 game cushion between themselves and postseason hopefuls, the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Padres are depending on their big three of Juan Soto, Josh Bell and Manny Machado to lead their play-off charge. However, time is running out, and they have no room to slip up any further.