Fernando Tatis Jr., Jason Adam join Manny Machado as Padres' All-Stars

Kevin Acee, The San Diego Union-Tribune on Jul 6, 2025

Published in Baseball

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SAN DIEGO — Not many players could be considered an All-Star while playing through a severe slump that has lasted more than two months.

But Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. has been good enough and is a big enough presence that he will be on the National League All-Star team.

It was announced Sunday that Tatis and reliever Jason Adam will join Manny Machado on the NL team at the July 15 game in Atlanta.

Machado was revealed Wednesday as the NL’s starting third baseman by virtue of getting the most fan votes among players at his position. It is his seventh All-Star game and fourth time as a starter.

Pitchers and reserves, chosen by player balloting and MLB, were announced Sunday.

Several players usually drop out due to injury or scheduling, many of them starting pitchers. That means there is still a chance Nick Pivetta, who ranks 14th in the NL with a 3.25 ERA, fifth with a 1.04 WHIP and is tied for the league lead with nine wins, will be an All-Star.

This is Adam’s first selection and Tatis’ third.

Adam was singing at church Sunday morning when he saw he was getting a call from Padres manager Mike Shildt. As his wife fretted he had been traded, Adam went outside to return the call.

“That made it extra-special for me,” Adam said of learning of his selection while at church. “It reminded me that we try to be good, we try to do everything we can to be the best at our job, but ultimately, it’s a gift that we get to play this game and there are a lot of factors beyond my control. … Ultimately, it’s a gift that I’m thankful for.

Entering Sunday night’s game against the Rangers, Adam had a 1.65 ERA while having made more appearances (43) than all but two other NL relievers.

“Incredibly thankful,” said Adam, who joined the Padres at the trade deadline and is in his eighth big-league season. “Thankful for the staff here giving me the opportunity to pitch. Thankful for my teammates picking me up on the nights I stunk. I don’t feel like I deserve it, but I’m just incredibly thankful.”

Tatis was voted in as a starter in 2024 but did not attend last season while on the injured list with a leg injury. He was the NL’s starting shortstop in 2021.

It seemed all but certain Tatis would get back to the All-Star game early this season. But he has struggled at the plate almost as severely as he ever has most of the past two-plus months. From May 2 through Saturday, he was batting .212 with a .674 OPS. He hit .345 with a 1.011 OPS in his first 29 games this season.

“You want the best players in the game at the All-Star game,” Shildt said. “And, you know, ‘Tati’ has had a little bit of a tale of two seasons this year, but he definitely demonstrated and helped us, in some cases carried us to a lot of wins in the first half. So him getting an All-Star game nod is well-deserved.”

Tatis’ 3.6 WAR still ranks second among all NL outfielders behind only Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong. Crow-Armstrong is the only NL outfielder with more defensive runs saved (14) than Tatis’ 11, and Tatis ranks third behind Crow-Armstrong (14) and the Cardinals’ Victor Scott II (12) with nine outs above average.

Tatis had not arrived at Petco Park during media availability in the clubhouse and later sent word through the media relations staff he would speak about his selection after the game.

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