Bad news for the Padres and superstar Fernando Tatis Jr.
Maybe the most power player in the National League if not all of baseball's young San Diego Padres star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. So far the only knock on him has been his inability to stay healthy - if he had last season, he probably would have won the NL MVP award. Tatis is currently a +400 co-favorite with Washington outfielder Juan Soto to win the 2022 NL MVP at Caesars Sportsbook, but Padres GM AJ Preller said today that Tatis fractured his wrist this season and nearly three Surgery will be required with a recovery time of months.
Why are we only hearing about it now? Because players and teams were not allowed to communicate during the lockdown, clubs were not alerted to any injuries occurring during the off-season until the lockdown ended. Tatis was also the +1100 favorite to lead the majors in Homers. Toronto's Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will become the new favorite there.
Tatis Jr., 23, played 130 games last year and still managed to lead the National League in homers with 42, second in slugging percentage (.611), third in ops (.975) and stealing bases (25) were in ), tied for 3rd extra-base hits (73) and 7th in runs (99). Tatis was the 11th player in MLB history to have had 30 double/40 homers/25 SB seasons and the youngest to do so. He finished three RBIs shy of 100 and third in the NL MVP behind Nationals' Soto and Phillips winner Bryce Harper. The only Padres player to win the NL MVP was Ken Caminity in 1996.
Needless to say, a wrist injury is never a good thing, but especially for a power hitter. Tatis Jr.'s average exhaust velocity of 93.9 mph led the NL last year. He originally hurt his shoulder in 2021 spring training and made his first stint on the injured list from 6-16 April with a left shoulder swelling. He tested positive for COVID-19 on May 11 with a stint on the COVID-19 injured list, and he re-exacerbated his shoulder injury on June 19 while diving for a ball. He was placed on the IL again with swelling of the left shoulder on 31 July and reinstated on 15 August.
San Diego posted a disappointing 79–83 in 2021 with no playoffs. The team fired manager Jayce Tingler and was replaced by former A's manager Bob Melvin. The Friars had a total of 91.5 overs/under wins for 2022, but that could change with this news. His first spring training game is Friday and his season opener is April 7 in Arizona. Ha-seong Kim and Jake Cronenworth could split time at shortstop in place of Tatis.