Fernando Tatis, Jr. could come off injured list just in time for Dodgers series

The San Diego Padres are getting star Fernando Tatis Jr. off the injured list in time for their pivotal weekend series against the rival Los Angeles Dodgers.

Just as the 2021 season started for the San Diego Padres, there was an overwhelming thought that shortstop Fernando Tatis, Jr.’s was already over. During an Apr. 5 game against the San Francisco Giants, Tatis suffered a subluxation of his left shoulder when swinging at a pitch. Many believed it was going to be a season-ending injury, but this latest update will make Padres fans smile.

While speaking with the media on Thursday (via Dennis Lin of The Athletic), Padres manager Jayce Tingler said Tatis just had his “best day” in live at-bats, and the expectation is that he will be removed from the injured list on Friday. That is great timing if that turns out to be the case, as he would return for the start of their series against the rival Los Angeles Dodgers.

Padres: Fernando Tatis Jr. expected to come off injured list Friday

This is a great update for the Padres. At the initial timing of the injury, it appeared as though Tatis was destined to either miss most of or the entirety of the 2021 season. Instead, Tatis ended up on the 10-day injured list and is now on the verge of rejoining the team on Friday.

Tatis was coming off a tremendous sophomore season with the Padres, where he slashed .277/.366/.571 while recording 17 home runs, 45 RBI, 50 runs scored and 62 hits in 59 games played. After their rather deep postseason run reached its end in the NLDS at the hands of the Dodgers, the Padres signed Tatis to a lucrative 14-year, $340 million contract. That proved that the organization had faith in Tatis to be the man to lead them to their first World Series title.

The star shortstop got off to a bit of a slow start this season before going down with the shoulder injury. In five games, Tatis recorded three hits, four runs scored, one home run and one RBI in 18 plate appearances.

It is important to note that it is “expected” Tatis will make his return on Friday, but we will keep you posted in case things change in the course of the next 24 hours.