San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. has not suited up since June 21 on account of a stress reaction in his right thigh bone. He expects that to change at some point in September, however, after taking batting practice with the Padres on Friday.
“I really don’t have specific dates,” Tatis told reporters afterward. “I feel that’s more a conversation between the training staff, the manager and myself and A.J. [Preller, the general manager]. But I’m definitely playing baseball the next month. That’s what it looks like.”
Tatis, 25, was in the midst of another outstanding season prior to being placed on the injured list. In 80 games, he had hit .279/.354/.468 with 14 home runs, 36 runs batted in, and eight stolen bases on 11 tries. His resulting 130 OPS+ represented his best mark since the 2021 campaign when he finished third in National League Most Valuable Player Award voting and earned his second career Silver Slugger Award.
Of course, production has seldom been a problem for Tatis. Availability, or lack thereof, on the other hand, has plagued him since his debut. Dating back to the 2020 season, he’s appeared in 410 of the Padres’ 676 games — or, about 60.7%. Last season’s 141 appearances represented a new personal best, and even if he returned on September 1 (and there’s no indication he will), he would top out at 104 appearances this year.
The Padres, nevertheless, find themselves in the thick of the playoff picture. San Diego entered Saturday with a 73-57 record that puts it 4 1/2 games back in the National League West and a half-game back of the top wild-card spot. The Padres have maintained a three-game advantage over the Atlanta Braves for the second wild-card spot, as well as a 5 1/2 game lead over the New York Mets for a playoff spot overall.
In addition to Tatis, the Padres could see right-handed starter Yu Darvish make his own return from a months-long absence. Darvish rejoined the Padres on Friday after being reinstated from the restricted list. Darvish is still on the injured list.
