The San Diego Padres now know the official return date for suspended superstar Fernando Tatis Jr. He will take the field on April 20, barring any unforeseen circumstances. However, there are a few things to get in order first.
The most important is his health. Tatis underwent shoulder surgery in early September. In October, he underwent a second wrist surgery to fix an injury sustained in an offseason motorcycle accident last December.
Getting the 23-year-old superstar back healthy is immensely important for the Padres. However, the burning question within the organization isn't about his health. It's about the position he'll play once he's back.
Padres general manager AJ Preller sidestepped the question a couple weeks ago. On Wednesday, he admitted he's had discussions about where Tatis will play.
“I've talked to him personally about position,” Preller said Wednesday. “He wants to win, that's the No. 1 thing, and we want to get him back on the field. I think the next six, eight weeks, going into spring training — we'll make sure he's real clear on what the expectations are, definitely get his feedback some more as we see what the options are for the roster and how he fits in.”
Fernando Tatis' natural position is shortstop. However, the Padres received outstanding service from Ha-Seong Kim in that role. The other potential positions for Tatis are center field and left field.
At the end of the day, the Padres want their superstar back healthy. He completely missed the 2022 season, so getting him back into the swing of things is the short term focus. However, the discussions about position will be on going.
“Getting him back on the field is the priority, but as we get into the next couple months, we'll get more into what position that looks like. And if it's gonna be playing multiple spots, we'll talk about that as well,” Preller said.
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