San Diego Padres superstar Fernando Tatis Jr suffered a fractured wrist at some point during the offseason and could be out for up to three months, general manager AJ Preller told reporters on Monday. including Dennis Lin of The Athletic. Surgery may be required. The three-month schedule will allow Tatis to return in mid-June.
“Nothing crazy, I thought it was something we could handle,” Tatis told reporters. including AJ Cassavella of MLB.comabout trauma. He said it first appeared about a month ago, although it may be related to his motorcycle accident in December. Tatis clarified that the decision on the operation has not yet been made.
Players and teams were not allowed to communicate during the lockout, so clubs were not alerted to any off-season injuries until the break was over. This will be the third time in three seasons of 162 games he has missed due to injury. In 2019 and 2021, he was pushed aside by back and shoulder problems.
Tatis, 23, has finished in the top four NL MVPs in each of his last two seasons. He hit .282/.364/.611 last year, hitting 42 home runs in 130 games, and has proven himself to be one of the prolific players in the game when he’s actually on the field. In three seasons in MLB, Tatis played 273 of a possible 384 regular season games, or 71 percent.
The injury is devastating news for a Padres team looking to bounce back from an extremely disappointing 2021. San Diego started last season as a World Series contender and instead went 79–83. They have lost 34 of their last 46 games. Manager Jace Tingler was fired after the season and the Padres hired Bob Melvin from the Athletics to replace him.
Here’s what Sportsline has to say about the impact of losing Tatis on potentially nearly half of the season:
with Tatis | 88.8 | 66.2% | 5.1% | 1.1% |
without Tatis | 86.1 | 53.8% | 2.9% | 0.5% |
Change | -2.7 | -12.4% | -2.2% | -0.6% |
“It’s horrible. I feel like everyone is disappointed, especially me.” Tatis said to Cassavell. “I feel like we have a good chance as a team this year and I just want to be close to my teammates.”
San Diego traded second baseman Adam Frazier to the Mariners before the lockout, which reduced the depth of the club’s average infield. Melvin’s usual lineup looks something like this while Tatis is on the mend:
The Padres pursued Nelson Cruz prior to his deal with the Nationals, and they expect to stay in the big bat market. A short-term deal with an outfielder makes the most sense. Jorge Soler, Andrew McCutcheon and Jock Pederson are potential targets. They might also consider reuniting with Tommy Pham or going after Japanese slugger Seiya Suzuki.
Journeyman and off-roster Domingo Leiba now has an inside track on useful teamwork so the Padres can upgrade their bench ahead of Opening Day. San Diego was an average offensive team last season, and they have one more injury to look really thin on the roster.
Tatis was nothing short of a brilliant player on the pitch. It’s just that he doesn’t appear on the field as often as the Padres would like. Tatis is entering the second year of a record 14-year, $340 million contract he signed last spring.