Padres give injury update on star shortstop Fernando Tatis, Jr.
By Mark Powell
Fernando Tatis, Jr. is on the injured list after hurting himself on a violent swing Monday night.
The Padres just signed Tatis, Jr. to a 14-year, $340 million extension before the start of the regular season. Unfortunately, they’ll be without his services as he recovers from a shoulder injury.
Per the Padres, Tatis, Jr. will try to rest and then rehab his shoulder before considering what would likely be season-ending surgery.
Fernando Tatis Jr. has some slight labral tearing, which is consistent with a subluxation injury, A.J. Preller said. "Overall, the exam today was pretty uneventful." Tatis will go on the IL. Preller said the Padres will go the rest-and-rehab route and aim for a return in 10 days.
— Dennis Lin (@dennistlin) April 6, 2021
Tatis, Jr. emerged as one of the best young players in baseball the last few seasons, most notably in the shortened 2020 campaign, in which his Padres surprised most of MLB by keeping up with the eventual World Series champion Dodgers in the NL West.
Padres in tough spot with Fernando Tatis, Jr
Without Tatis, Jr., the Padres will turn to veteran Manny Machado and Eric Hosmer to fill the void. San Diego is stacked, so they can likely stay afloat without their superstar shortstop for now.
Per the Padres depth chart, Ha-Seong Kim is next man up due to the Tatis injury. Kim is just 25 years old and has just nine career MLB at-bats, as he was signed to a four-year, $28 million deal this offseason out of the KBO. Kim hit 30 homers with a .306/.397/.523 in the KBO last season, but playing in the majors is an entirely different animal, as we’ve learned over the years.
Tatis, Jr. was injured on his backswing Monday night, and the initial prognosis wasn’t good. The Padres claimed the 22-year-old suffered a left shoulder subluxation.
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