MLB news: San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates, Texas Rangers

Fernando Tatis Jr. nears his return to the San Diego Padres while Connor Joe has a reunion in Colorado and Jacob deGrom is back in the news for the wrong reasons for the Texas Rangers. Those are the stories leading off today’s MLB news and notes.

MLB news: Jacob deGrom leaves game early for Texas Rangers

Thanks to a three-run homer that measured 441 feet off the bat of Josh Jung in the top of the first, deGrom took the mound in Kansas City on Monday with a comfortable lead. However, when he came out of the game after the fourth inning because of right wrist soreness after not allowing a Kansas City hit through those frames, Rangers fans cared little about the stats and more about the health of their star offseason acquisition.

While the team announced that the move was just a precaution, the follow-up in the tweet about deGrom continuing to be evaluated is something for Rangers fans to watch.

San Diego Padres news: Fernando Tatis Jr. prepping for season debut

Rejoice Padres fans! The 24-year-old All-Star is nearing the end of his PED suspension and is preparing for his April 20 debut in Arizona against the Diamondbacks.

Tatis Jr. slashed .515/.590/1.212 (you read that right) with seven home runs and 15 RBI in 33 at-bats at Triple-A El Paso before heading to San Diego to start his workouts with the Padres.

San Diego entered Monday’s game with the Atlanta Braves with an 8-9 record, so the Padres have certainly yet to find their stride in 2023. Expect Tatis to add to the swagger of the team starting on Thursday.

Pittsburgh Pirates news: Connor Joe heads back to Colorado

Last season with the Rockies, Connor Joe reached base safely in 90 of his 110 games with a plate appearance. However, facing a roster crunch, Colorado traded Joe in December to the Pirates for minor league pitcher Nick Garcia.

Pittsburgh originally drafted Joe with the 39th overall pick in the 2014 MLB draft, but he had never actually suited up for the Pirates until this season, a year where he slashed .333/.421/.576 in his first 33 at-bats.

Monday was a reunion for Joe, who returned to Coors Field with the Pirates to begin a three-game series in Denver.

“I’m excited and I’m going to try and take it all in,” Joe told reporters before the game. “I have business to do, obviously, but I told myself that it’s not often that a place can make you feel this special, but it does. I’ll make it a point to embrace it and take it all in. Right when I got traded, I looked at the calendar and I was really working hard to make the team so I could be here for this trip.”