San Diego Padres fans shuddered in fear as Fernando Tatis Jr. fell to the ground and clutched his left arm during an at-bat in the third inning against the San Francisco Giants. Tatis was quickly ushered away by personal training staff, and exited the game with what was later determined to be a left shoulder subluxation or a partial dislocation.
Tatis took a strikeout swing, and as soon as he went back with his swing, is when the obvious pain set in. A reevaluation is set for Tuesday, where Tatis will have an MRI to see the extent of his injury, and for the team to set a timetable for his return.
The shortstop has struggled with back and shoulder issues, and his left shoulder also halted him for a few days during spring training earlier this year. He exited a spring training game due to his left shoulder but was back on the field a couple of days later. He has seemingly reaggravated that injury, so the Padres could be looking at a longer wait for their star player.
Manager Jayce Tingler said it was too early to consider whether surgery is the route they will have to go, but also added that is the “most” pain he has seen him in. Since the spring training incident with his left shoulder, Tatis has also continued to receive treatment for it, and Tingler said this is dislocations are something Tatis deals with off and on, this incident just seems to be a bit more serious than those in the past.
As previously mentioned, Tatis has struggled with injuries in the past and played just 84 games in 2019 due to issues with his lower back. However, there are two positives the Padres can find in the timing of this injury: it is still early in the season, and the Padres have options for Tatis’ replacement. Of course, nobody wanted to see Tatis get hurt, but Padres fans should find solace in those two points. Tingler said the options could range from Ha-Seong Kim, Jake Cronenworth, Jorge Mateo, and Tucupita Marcano.
