The San Diego Padres are coming off of the 2024 MLB All-Star Break with a 50-49 record, good for third place in the National League West. If the Padres are to catch up with Shohei Ohtani and the first-place LA Dodgers, they will need more firepower from their batting lineup and Fernando Tatis Jr. is just the man to provide it.
The Padres got a hopeful update on the versatile power hitter Thursday that spells good fortune for the foreseeable future if all goes according to plan.
The update came during the release of the 2024 Padres playoff odds. Padres trade deadline candidates were revealed.
Tatis Jr.'s return could change everything for Manager Mike Shildt's team, and it looks like there is now plenty of hope for that to happen soon.
Tatis Jr. Injury Update Given By Baseball Scribe
Tatis Jr. is hitting .279 with 14 homers and 36 RBI from his right fielder position this season, a solid first half of the year but definitely numbers he is more than capable of improving upon.
Reporter Kevin Acee said on X Thursday that Tatis Jr. had an MRI that looks promising for a return.
“He can continue to incrementally increase his baseball activity,” Acee wrote. “He has already begun playing catch and swinging a bat.”
“Nice, this lineup looks weak without him,” one fan said on X in response to Acee's report.
Second Half Kicks Off With A Bang
The Padres have a tough road trip starting with the AL Central Division leading Cleveland Guardians in the Buckeye State before heading to Washington, D.C. to take on the NL East's fourth place team, the Nationals.
A series win over the nationals could set the tone for Shildt's team as they seek to get a leg up on the competition for the Dodgers' throne in the NL West.
The latest Tatis Jr. injury news obscures a Padres team that lost six of seven games heading into the All-Star Break and is in need of a different approach with such tough games looming.
This year's Padres squad won't be mistaken for the 1927 New York Yankees' Bronx Bombers batting lineup, but they must find a way to poke more runs across the plate. San Diego has scored three runs or less in five of six games which highlights the need for a Tatis Jr. return, or perhaps a big trade at the deadline, sooner rather than later.
It's all part of the ups and downs of a professional baseball season, but many fans are start to get that familiar feeling that things won't change unless a drastic change is made soon in the place known as ‘America's Finest City.'
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