Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. goes to start a rehab project immediately, experiences Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Tatis will be a part of the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas upfront of his anticipated activation on April 20, when he can have completed serving final yr’s PED suspension.
Tatis, 24, was thought-about one of many prime prospects within the sport throughout his time within the minors. He made good on that hype in his first couple of seasons, hitting 39 dwelling runs and stealing 27 bases over 143 video games between 2019 and 2020. His .301/.374/.582 batting line in that point amounted to a wRC+ of 151, indicating he was 51% higher than the league-average hitter. He bought combined evaluations for his protection however held his personal on the premium place of shortstop. All that led to six.4 wins above alternative, per FanGraphs, in lower than a full season of labor.
Primarily based on his prospect pedigree and fiery arrival within the large leagues, the Padres positioned an enormous guess on Tatis. They signed him to a 14-year, $340M extension going into 2021, one of many largest contracts in MLB historical past. The primary season went about in addition to anticipated, as Tatis continued to showcase himself as one of many higher gamers within the league. He hit 42 dwelling runs and stole 25 bases, resulting in a .282/.364/.611 batting line and 157 wRC+. That was all regardless of some shoulder points limiting him to 130 video games and the membership pushing him to the outfield for a bit, hoping that may be much less taxing than taking part in shortstop. Even with these hurdles, he nonetheless accrued 7.2 fWAR, the best whole amongst place gamers that yr.
The narrative has been a lot totally different since that point, nevertheless. He confirmed as much as Spring Coaching in March of 2021 with a damaged wrist, admitting that he had fallen off his motorbike a number of occasions throughout the offseason. He required surgical procedure on that wrist and was anticipated to overlook about three months of the 2022 season, although he remained on the injured listing into August as he didn’t return to well being as rapidly as hoped. He started a rehab project that month however it was reported shortly thereafter that he had been given an 80-game suspension after testing constructive for Clostebol, a banned performance-enhancing substance. That formally ended any likelihood he had of taking part in within the large leagues in any respect in 2022, making {that a} fully misplaced season for him.
Whereas out with the suspension, Tatis underwent shoulder surgical procedure and a follow-up process on his wrist, utilizing the downtime to attempt to get as wholesome as potential. In his absence, Ha-Seong Kim had taken over the shortstop job and carried out nicely, although the Friars went into the winter decided to make an enormous free-agent splash. They didn’t land Trea Turner or Aaron Decide however finally succeeded with Xander Bogaerts. He’ll now take over the shortstop job, pushing Kim to second and returning Tatis to the outfield, the place he performed 27 video games in 2021.
Tatis was cleared to start baseball actions in January and got here into this yr’s spring coaching wholesome, hitting .273/.340/.432 in 16 video games. The membership’s postseason run counted in opposition to his suspension, knocking 12 video games off the whole, however he nonetheless had 20 video games remaining at the start of the common season. He’s anticipated to be activated previous to the membership’s sport on April 20 in opposition to the Diamondbacks however will use the subsequent two weeks to get into sport form in Triple-A contests. Rehab assignments for place gamers have a most size of 20 days.
It’s onerous to know what to anticipate from Tatis after a very misplaced season, a number of surgical procedures and a place change. But when he’s capable of get anyplace near his prior stage of efficiency, he will likely be an enormous difference-maker for the Padres as they give the impression of being to make it again to the postseason once more. With a lineup already boasting potent sluggers like Bogaerts, Juan Soto and Manny Machado, a wholesome and productive Tatis might take them to a different stage. Defensively, the membership has been utilizing Soto in left and Trent Grisham in heart this yr, whereas proper discipline begins have gone to David Dahl, José Azocar and Rougned Odor to date. The return of Tatis will probably lower into the taking part in time of that latter group, because the designated hitter slot figures to be taken by Nelson Cruz and Matt Carpenter.
