The San Diego Padres are just one game over .500, but they are in the thick of the National League wild card race, as they are just a game behind the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets, who are currently tied in the record department right now. While the Padres have been struggling as of late, they can rest assured that they will be getting one of their superstar players in Fernando Tatis Jr. back in the near future.
Tatis hasn't played since June 21st, as he's been on the injured list with a stress reaction in his right femur. Tatis won't return ahead of the All-Star break, but his recent comments made it sound like he is closer to returning than expected, which is a great sign for San Diego and their fans.
“We're taking it slow. But probably, it's not going to be as long as we all thought.” – Fernando Tatis Jr., MLB.com
Fernando Tatis Jr. hoping to return as soon as possible for Padres
Tatis had been playing well prior to his stint on the injured list (.279 BA, 14 HR, 36 RBI, 8 SB, .821 OPS), earning the second All-Star selection of his career. Unfortunately, he won't be able to participate in the contest due to his injury, but given the Padres postseason aspirations, that should be the least of his concerns right now.
As the star outfielder notes, he's not going to rush himself back onto the field, but he seems to be trending in the right direction. This was billed as a somewhat serious injury for Tatis, but the fact that he seems to think that he won't be out for as he was initially expected to be is a great sign that a return could be right around the corner for him once the All-Star break festivities are over.
Getting Tatis back soon would be huge, because his main replacement in David Peralta hasn't exactly been all that effective (.229 BA, 1 HR, 7 RBI, .598 OPS). The gap in terms of production between these two is pretty large, and in a tight wild card race, getting Tatis back on the field could end up being the difference between making and missing the postseason.
For now, the Padres are content to wait it out and let Tatis do whatever he needs to do to get himself healthy for the stretch of the season, but all eyes are going to be on him once the All-Star break is over to see what his status is. This is certainly an encouraging update, but Tatis isn't out of the woods just yet, and San Diego will be anxiously awaiting his return to action over the next few weeks.
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