Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. coming off IL, will play Monday against Tigers
The Padres are getting a lift in their push for the postseason.
Fernando Tatis Jr. is returning.
The star right fielder will be activated from the injured list and in the lineup for Monday’s series opener against the Tigers.
Tatis has spent the past 72 days on the injured list with a stress reaction in his right femur (thigh bone).
The move has been forecasted for days, as Tatis was in Peoria, Ariz., this past week getting dozens of at-bats against minor-league pitchers. The reports were good regarding how he looked and felt, and the Padres decided he is ready to come back without going on an official rehab assignment.
The 25-year-old Tatis played with the injury, which was initially diagnosed as a quad strain, almost the entire first three months of the season and was still the Padres leader with 14 home runs and ranked 13th in the National League with an .821 OPS when he was placed on the injured list. The only start he missed was four days before his final game, which was June 21.
The Padres have gone 38-21 without Tatis and, at 78-61, are tied with the Diamondbacks (77-60) for the National League’s top wild-card spot.
The team’s success without one of its best players is thanks in large part to a resurgence by another of its best players.
Manny Machado has an .889 OPS and 16 home runs while Tatis has been out.
As in most matters with the Padres this season, though, it has been a group lift. Tatis’ primary replacement, David Peralta, has hit .288 with an .810 OPS in his absence, and center fielder Jackson Merrill has an .892 OPS with 12 homers since Tatis went on the IL.
The Padres, who have 23 games remaining, have long talked about getting Tatis back as being like a marquee trade deadline acquisition.
“What he provides is like nothing else,” Jake Cronenworth said recently. “It’s going to be a huge boost for us when he does come back.”
