The San Diego Padres are fighting to stay alive in the NL wildcard race after an abysmal start to the season, and they need all hands on deck to climb back into playoff position. But one former player is casting doubt on the contributions of Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. after his PED suspension.

Former Minnesota Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe was asked whether he would rather have Fernando Tatis Jr. or young Mariners star Julio Rodriguez for the next 10 years on the Chris Rose Sports show. He selected Tatis Jr, but then circled back to his PED suspension and noted that it made an impact on his decision.

“For the most part I'm taking Fernando Tatis Jr, I think he's the more dynamic player and has more pop, but you have to factor the PED thing,” Plouffe began. “He's got to get back to where he was so I can really fully believe in him.

Plouffe believes that while Tatis is the better player with a higher upside, his numbers have dipped in his first year back from suspension and he would like to see them climb back before declaring him as good as everyone expected before. Tatis Jr. just became the fourth fastest player to reach 100 homers last week with a blast against the Rockies.

“I want to make sure Tatis wasn't relying on those PEDs to put up those gaudy numbers the first three years… If he was on it for longer than we thought and it was helping him recover, there's still a discussion to be had,” Plouffe finished.

Tatis Jr. just became the fourth fastest player to reach 100 homers last week with a blast against the Rockies. The question came a day after Rodriguez robbed Tatis of another homer with a serious fake-out.

The Padres sit four games back in the wildcard following a recent three game losing streak. They decided not to be sellers at the deadline, instead adding a few assets and making the push for a second consecutive playoff appearance. They are certainly underdogs, sitting with +250 odds to make the playoffs per FanDuel Sportsbook, and need some major performances out of Tatis down the stretch to outlast the other competitors.