The San Diego Padres are unfortunately going to have to wait longer for Fernando Tatis Jr.
Tatis underwent surgery in March after fracturing his wrist during the offseason, so the star shortstop has yet to play this season. While the team initially offered a three-month timetable that would have cleared a mid-June return, Tatis reportedly isn’t close to taking the field.
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune‘s Kevin Acee, Tatis’ CT scan “did not reveal the level of healing the Padres hoped.” The 23-year-old will miss more time without any new estimate provided.
Last week, Sports Illustrated‘s Tom Verducci reported that the Padres aren’t expecting Tatis back from “a slow-healing injury until July. It’s unclear if these CT results are an additional setback that could delay his recovery even more.
Tatis emerged as one of baseball’s brightest stars by batting .292/.369/.596 with 81 home runs and 51 stolen bases from 2019 to 2021. Though Tatis played 273 out of 384 possible games during that timeframe, Juan Soto was the only position player to accrue a higher WAR, per FanGraphs.
Despite Tatis’ absence, the Padres are tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in the NL West. Excellent pitching and MVP-caliber play from third baseman Manny Machado have led them to a 38-24 start, but the Friars rank 25th in team OPS.
They’ll eventually need Tatis back to make a legitimate championship push, and baseball is far more exciting with him on the field.