Fernando Tatis Jr.

Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. left tonight’s game after sliding into third base and seemingly re-injuring his left shoulder, according to Dennis Lin of The Athletic.

There isn’t any word yet on the severity of the injury. But this is an issue that has been bothering Tatis on-and-off for the entire season. It first flared up in March, before the season even began. Tatis then appeared to re-aggravate the issue, landing on the IL April 6th. Thankfully, he was reactivated after a minimum 10-day stay, being reactivated April 16th. But then on June 19th, Tatis was again removed from a game with what seemed like another shoulder injury. Though Padres manager Jayce Tingler later said that the move was precautionary and Tatis did not end up going back on the IL.

Losing Tatis for any amount of time would be a serious blow to the Padres. They are currently holding down the last playoff spot in the National League, but have the Reds nipping at their heels, just 4 1/2 games back. The calendar will flip over to August on Sunday as teams will be pushing to make their final pushes for the postseason. Tatis has been superb this year, despite dealing with this ongoing injury. He’s produced a 165 wRC+ on the season so far on his way to accruing 4.7 fWAR, easily the best on the team. Tatis and Padres fans will surely be hoping this is just another precautionary measure.

10:09PM: Tatis was removed for precautionary reasons, Padres manager Jayce Tingler told The Athletic’s Dennis Lin and other reporters after the game.  “We feel like we’re in a fairly decent position.  The trainers think (his shoulder is) nowhere near where it’s been earlier on in the year,” Tingler said.

8:32PM: Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. left tonight’s game in the top of the fifth inning after appearing to hurt his shoulder.  According to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link), Tatis seemed “to jar his left shoulder diving for a ball” off the bat of Reds outfielder Tyler Naquin.  Tatis left the field after a visit from the team trainer.

More will be known after the game, though any sort of shoulder problem is of particular concern given that Tatis is already playing with a slight labrum tear in that same left shoulder.  Tatis suffered the tear while taking a big swing during an at-bat early in April, though what seemed like a very serious injury at the time resulted in only a minimal 10-day stint on the injured list.

It could be that the Padres were simply being as cautious as possible in removing Tatis at the first sign of any shoulder discomfort, and this current issue might not require another IL visit at all for the star shortstop.  Needless to say, any sort of absence for Tatis would be a blow to San Diego given the fantastic numbers (.285/.364/.675 with 22 home runs) that he has posted over 231 plate appearances this season.  Tatis entered Saturday as the NL leader in homers, RBI (50), and OPS, while his .677 slugging percentage was leading all MLB hitters.

APRIL 16: The Padres have activated Tatis, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. They optioned infielder Tucupita Marcano to make room for Tatis, per Dennis Lin of The Athletic.

APRIL 15: Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. suffered a catastrophic-looking left shoulder injury on April 5, though it doesn’t appear he’s going to miss much time. Tatis had his day “as far as his at-bats” go on Thursday, according to manager Jayce Tingler, and Dennis Lin of The Athletic tweets that the Padres are “expected” to activate him from the 10-day injured list Friday.

Tatis will be back in time to face the Dodgers, the reigning World Series champions and the NL West leaders who are the biggest obstacle standing in the Padres’ way. San Diego entered 2021 with championship hopes of its own after going 37-23 a year ago, thanks in no small part to Tatis. The 22-year-old wunderkind slashed .277/.366/.571 with 17 home runs and 11 stolen bases last season en route to a fourth-place finish in NL MVP voting.

Tatis could find himself in the thick of the MVP race for a long time, which led the Padres to sign him to a historic 14-year, $340MM extension in the offseason. They and their fans were undoubtedly filled with concern when Tatis went down in their fifth game this season, but he appears to have dodged a significant injury.

With Tatis out, the Padres have gone with Ha-Seong Kim and Jake Cronenworth at short. Both Kim and Cronenworth are versatile enough to play multiple positions, so they should get plenty of time on the field for San Diego when Tatis returns.

Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. exited their game against the Giants on Monday with what looked like a potentially disastrous left shoulder injury. The Padres found out Tuesday that Tatis suffered a “slight labrum tear” that will require a stint on the 10-day injured list, general manager A.J. Preller announced, though the results of his MRI were “pretty positive,” per Scott Miller of Bleacher Report. The Padres are recalling infielder/outfielder Brian O’Grady to fill Tatis’ roster spot.

It’s still not known how long Tatis will sit out, but the Padres don’t anticipate that he will need surgery. Preller told Bob Nightengale of USA Today and other reporters that there wouldn’t be any long-term risk in letting Tatis play again this year, and the Padres are hopeful he could return from the IL as soon as he’s eligible.

All things considered, it’s very encouraging news for the Padres, who signed Tatis to a 14-year, $340MM contract extension before the season. The 22-year-old burst on the scene with an outstanding performance from 2019-20, and though the Padres will miss him for as long as he’s out, they remain a highly talented team with an interesting shortstop substitute on hand. The team signed former Korea Baseball Organization Ha-Seong Kim to a four-year, $28MM deal in free agency, and he’ll start in Tatis’ place Tuesday.

April 6, 6:04pm: The Padres are “cautiously optimistic” about Tatis right now, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. It’s still not clear how much time he will miss, though.

7:15am: The Padres’ initial diagnosis is a left shoulder subluxation, per a team announcement. Tatis will be further evaluated today.

April 5: Padres superstar shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. departed their game Monday against the Giants with an apparent left elbow injury, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com was among those to report. Tatis struck out in an at-bat against Giants right-hander Anthony DeSclafani and then went down “crumpled in a heap,” per Cassavell. Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area provided video on Twitter.

A serious injury to Tatis would not only be a massive loss for the Padres, who have World Series hopes this year, but the game of baseball as a whole. The 22-year-old was one of the most ballyhooed prospects in the sport before he reached the majors, and he has more than lived up to that status so far in the bigs. Dating back to his 2019 debut, Tatis has slashed .298/.372/.577 (148 wRC+) with 40 home runs, 27 stolen bases and 6.5 fWAR in just 147 games and 648 plate appearances. He’s among the main reasons the Padres look like an elite team on paper, not to mention one of baseball’s greatest talents.

Tatis has been so productive during his short career that the Padres signed him to a jaw-dropping 14-year, $340MM extension near the end of February. The Padres obviously did so with confidence that Tatis would stay healthy, but now they may be dealing with a disastrous scenario just a few games into his contract.