SAN DIEGO — Fernando Tatis Jr.’s re-emergence as one of the biggest stars in baseball is expected to continue next March on an international stage.
The San Diego Padres right fielder confirmed Monday night he anticipates he will make his World Baseball Classic debut for the Dominican Republic in 2026.
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“They haven’t made it official, but there’s really good talks out there,” Tatis told The Athletic after hitting two home runs in the Padres’ 10-4 comeback win against the Chicago Cubs at Petco Park. “It’s a matter of me staying healthy the rest of the season, putting everything that’s more important in front, and then we’ll see how that goes.”
Tatis, a native of the city of San Pedro De Macorís, indicated there is only one priority more important than playing for his native country in the sport’s top international tournament.
“Man, it’s just behind winning a World Series,” said Tatis, whose father, former major leaguer Fernando Tatis Sr., has been announced as the Dominican Republic’s hitting coach in the 2026 WBC. “Representing my country, playing right next to my Dominican fellows is something that I cherish, something that I always wanted as a kid. Definitely looking forward to it.”
Fernando has @PetcoPark shaking… again! 🫨 pic.twitter.com/uaPdQNtPaU
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) April 15, 2025
Tatis had planned to play in the 2023 WBC, but he was rendered ineligible the previous summer when he received an 80-game suspension after testing positive for Clostebol, a performance-enhancing substance in violation of Major League Baseball’s joint drug prevention and treatment program.
“Everybody saw what happened,” Tatis said. “(My WBC debut was) postponed.”
Since his return to big-league action in April 2023, Tatis has missed time because of a stress reaction in his right leg. He also has won a Platinum Glove and reapproached the kind of offensive production that made him a rookie phenom and, later, a National League MVP finalist. Through 16 games this season, Tatis is hitting .361 with six home runs and six stolen bases from the leadoff spot, setting the tone for a Padres team that has the majors’ best overall record (14-3) and best home record (11-0).
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“That was impressive today,” Padres third baseman Manny Machado said after Tatis hit a pair of low line drives over the left-field wall in Monday’s game. “Tonight’s at-bats, man, hopefully he continues doing that. That was huge. I mean, it was vintage Tati right there when I saw him come up as a 19-year-old.”
Like Tatis, Machado is expected to play in the 2026 WBC. Unlike Tatis, he would not be representing the Dominican Republic for the first time; Machado played in the WBC in 2017 and 2023. Still, the infielder’s younger teammate already has experienced the thrill of international competition.
In 2019, Tatis and his father led their hometown Estrellas Orientales to the club’s first winter-ball title since 1968. After the 2023 big-league season, Tatis Jr. again played for an Estrellas team managed by Tatis Sr.
And in 2009, when Tatis Sr. played for the Dominican Republic in that year’s WBC, his then-10-year-old son attended pool play games in Puerto Rico. Late Monday, Tatis Jr. recalled spending time there around such Dominican players as David Ortiz and Miguel Tejada.
“It was just a great group that was out there, and just being surrounded by those players, the aura that you feel in the moment is just unique,” Tatis said. “And how you saw them talking, having fun, hitting together, bulls—ing together, it’s why you play this game.”
Albert Pujols, the St. Louis Cardinals icon and likely first-ballot Hall of Famer, will manage the Dominican Republic in the 2026 WBC. Pujols was a prospect in the Cardinals’ farm system when Tatis Sr. played his final season for St. Louis in 2000.
(Photo: Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
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