Fernando Tatis Jr. speaks on suspension

This story was excerpted from AJ Cassavell’s Padres Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

This past Tuesday was an important day for the Padres.

No, Fernando Tatis Jr. won't repair his reputation in a day. No, he won't regain the full trust of his team in a day either.

But, Tatis stood in front of a clubhouse full of his teammates. He apologized and accepted some tough love.

Shortly thereafter, he sat in front of cameras and dozens of reporters, and he apologized again. Contrite and forward-looking, Tatis appeared wholly understanding that talk is cheap. His future actions will define him more than any press conference or players-only meeting will.

“I'm going to remember how this feels, and I'm going to make myself not ever be in this position ever again,” Tatis said. “I know I have a lot of love that I have to gain back. I have a lot of work to do. It's going to be a very long process to gain everybody's trust.”

A long process, indeed. But Tatis took the crucial first step on Tuesday.

“It's nice to have closure,” manager Bob Melvin said. “It was good to finally see him in person, have him talk to the guys, open it up for some questions, which they had. So, I don't think it could've gone better. ... This, too, shall pass. I told him that.”

It's now been two weeks since Tatis was suspended. The news was shocking, to say the least, and the Padres clubhouse responded with dismay, and even some biting words for Tatis.

This is a team fighting for its playoff life that will now be without one of the sport's best players for an entire season. Of course there was frustration.

"They were disappointed," Tatis said. "Everybody's disappointed -- I'm disappointed in myself. But I feel like we had a strong talk. We shared stuff that is tough love. I feel like we put everything on the table that needed to be out there. It's going to start slowly, one step at a time to regain their trust again."

Tatis spoke first in a 15-to-20-minute players-only meeting. His teammates spoke, too. Tatis apologized not only for his positive test. He apologized for the motorcycle accident which likely led to the wrist fracture that kept him out for the season's first four months.

Then, knowingly, he asked his teammates for help.

"And we told him we're here for him," said right-hander Joe Musgrove, whose initial comments about Tatis' immaturity were among the most pointed. "You've got 30 guys in here that love you, that care about you, and obviously you're a big part of this team. Everybody's got their issues, their problems and stuff. Part of it is using the guys around you, the people that are closest to you. This is essentially a family."

And families forgive. Tatis will remain around the team while he is suspended, though he isn’t permitted in the ballpark during games. On Tuesday, he revealed that he’s set to undergo shoulder surgery and will rehab in San Diego during the offseason.

Again, Tatis’ actions will speak louder than his words -- and that marks a positive step forward. A surgically repaired labrum will keep Tatis on the field as often as possible in the future.

Baby steps. Tatis won’t earn it all back in one day. But on Tuesday, that process began.

“Ultimately, he came up here and spoke in front of a big group which is not easy in these circumstances,” Manny Machado said. “Now, we can put this behind us and continue to grow. He knows what he did, the big mistake that he made. He's going to be paying the consequences. But ultimately he has people around him that are going to back him up and help him grow from this and learn from this."