San Diego Padres: Fernando Tatis Jr. Fractures Wrist, Out Up to Three Months

The San Diego Padres roster is going to be missing their young slugger for the start of the season and potentially up to three months.

On Monday, Padres reporter A.J. Cassavell announced on Twitter that Fernando Tatis Jr. will miss “up to three months” due to a fractured wrist that happened during the offseason, via A.J. Preller. It is unclear as to how and when this exactly happened, as players and coaches lost communication during the lockout.

San Diego Padres lose Fernando Tatis Jr. for start of season

Cassavell tweeted later that Tatis said that his wrist first became an issue a month ago, but didn’t think much about it. However, doctors believe that this could have been from an injury from the past. One idea that Cassavell threw out in that same tweet was that this could be from his motorcycle accident, which happened in early December.

Surgery could be an option for the 23-year-old slugger, which would result in Tatis missing up to three months. Although Tatis has not made a decision on if he will proceed with surgery or not, but it is likely that he will need it.

Tatis, 23, has quickly made a name for himself in baseball and is one of the most well-respected players in the game (hence his one-million-plus following on Instagram). Last season, Tatis slashed .282/.364/.611 in his third season. He led the NL with 42 dingers and found himself third in the MVP voting.

Although Tatis is young, this isn’t his first major injury in his career. In 2021, he found himself on the IL twice: once in April and another in July with similar shoulder injuries.  Regardless of his setbacks, he was able to recover both times and put up MVP-conversation numbers for the entire season.

Tatis is under a 14 year/$340 million contract as the San Diego Padres are trying to make a name for themselves in the competitive NL West. In 2021, the Padres ended their season 79-83, which put them third in the NL West.