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San Diego Padres cancel bobblehead night after Fernando Tatis Jr. suspended 80 games

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The San Diego Padres have replaced a planned Fernando Tatis Jr. bobblehead night with a Juan Soto T-shirt giveaway after the superstar shortstop was banned 80 games Friday following a positive test for a performance-enhancing drug.

Tatis, a 23-year-old sensation and one of the brightest stars in all of Major League Baseball, was on the cusp of returning to the Padres from a broken wrist that had sidelined him all season. He was on track to rejoin the team well before the Sept. 7 bobblehead night — until the positive test.

Instead, the Padres will offer fans shirts in the club’s City Connect color scheme with Soto’s name and No. 22 on the back before they play the Arizona Diamondbacks. The team announced the change Tuesday.

Soto, also 23 and one of baseball’s most well-known young faces, was acquired from the Washington Nationals in a blockbuster deadline deal Aug. 2.

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