Padres News: Fernando Tatis Jr. Injury Update

Right now, Major League Baseball cannot seem to catch a break. Last night in San Diego, the Padres took a crucial blow when star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. went down in a heap after a swing. While they’re calling it a right shoulder sublation, it looks a lot worse.

Fernando Tatis Jr. has exited the game with an apparent elbow injury
pic.twitter.com/9UGarbBWTC

— Starting 9 (@Starting9) April 6, 2021

Indeed, the Padres placed Tatis Jr. on the 10-day IL on Tuesday night. However, there was some veiled optimism with a quote from their GM A.J. Preller.

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

Honestly, Preller could be trying not to induce a citywide panic. First off, the Padres just signed Tatis Jr. to a record contract extension. After you give a guy a half billion dollars and the key to your franchise, the last thing you want to admit is that he has a chronic shoulder issue.

On MLB Sirius Radio, Steve Phillips said he’s dealt with this injury before and the only option is surgery. In short, we agree with this. We won’t see Tatis Jr. on a baseball field again this year and with the work stoppage looming, there’s a chance we don’t see him for a few years.

Right now, there’s nothing encouraging about this news, especially for the Padres who lost a tough game to the Giants at home last night to boot. Their season is drastically changed.

Finally for Tatis Jr., the guy needs to find a way to stay on the field. Injuries have been his one crux thus far in a big league career that hasn’t totaled 500 at-bats. There’s nothing worse than a player who can’t stay on the field, especially when given the keys to the franchise and being a pivotal part of a team’s revival surge.