The San Diego Padres are coming off a series loss to the Cincinnati Reds, with their last game coming Wednesday afternoon.
After getting Thursday off, the Padres are back in action Friday for a massive home series against the New York Yankees.
Ahead of the matchup, which will feature left-handed pitcher Max Fried for New York and right-hander Walker Buehler for the Padres, San Diego manager Craig Stammen announced some notable changes to his lineup.
Padres Announce Fernando Tatis Jr. Decision
After spending the last two games in the infield at second base, Stammen has moved Fernando Tatis Jr. back to the outfield for the series opener against New York, where he’s spent most of his time this season.
Via Underdog MLB: “Padres 9/4 F. Tatis Jr. RF S. Taylor LF M. Machado 3B T. France 1B J. Merrill CF A. Hays DH X. Bogaerts SS L. Campusano C J. Cronenworth 2B W. Buehler SP.”
Padres 9/4
F. Tatis Jr. RF
S. Taylor LF
M. Machado 3B
T. France 1B
J. Merrill CF
A. Hays DH
X. Bogaerts SS
L. Campusano C
J. Cronenworth 2BW. Buehler SP
— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) September 4, 2026
Tatis Jr.’s 2026 Season
In his seventh MLB season, Tatis Jr. has continued to establish himself as one of the game’s handful of elite players.
He’ll enter Friday night batting an impressive .284 across 138 games and 543 at-bats. He’s recorded 80 runs, 154 hits, 19 home runs and 70 RBIs while slugging .449 with a .800 OPS.
Looking at the Padres
San Diego is in the middle of a postseason push with just over 20 games remaining in the regular season.
They’re currently 73-67, which has them third in the NL West. However, they sit just a half-game out of a Wild Card spot, trailing the Arizona Diamondbacks.
It seems like the final Wild Card spot will likely come down to the D-backs and Padres unless the Miami Marlins, who sit 3.0 games back, or the St. Louis Cardinals, who are 4.0 games back, make a late-season push.
San Diego Padres Announce Fernando Tatis Jr. Before Yankees Series