The San Diego Padres are sitting in a wild card spot despite Fernando Tatis Jr. not playing this year. That could be on the verge of changing somewhat soon.
Fernando Tatis Jr. has not stepped onto the diamond at all in the 2022 season for the San Diego Padres. He underwent wrist surgery in March for an injury suffered in the offseason and may or may not have been related to his December 2021 motorcycle accident. Initially, the timetable was set for a June return but his recovery has gone much slower than expected.
Despite that, the Padres have been succeeding. If the season ended at the All-Star break, they would be a wild card team in the National League for the playoffs. Having said that, they need reinforcements in the worst way as they’ve been reeling a bit over the past few weeks. Luckily, Tatis might be on track to providing the jolt they need.
Padres general manager AJ Preller appeared on a radio show in San Diego and said that Tatis was beginning his hitting progression on Friday, a major step in his rehab and road back to the field.
Fernando Tatis Jr. injury update: Padres star beginning hitting progression
For those who don’t know, the hitting progression means that Tatis is going to swing a bat “with intent” for the first time in his recovery. He’s done the movements with the bat previously but he is starting to swing in a manner that would lead to him taking batting practice and then getting back in the batter’s box for a game.
Now, it should be said that this does not give a definitive timetable for Tatis’ return to the Padres lineup. There is no telling how long it will be after he starts this swinging until he takes the next step and so on.
With that said, this is positive news. While you can’t fault a player for being hurt, the slow nature of his recovery has been frustrating to watch for fans, especially with the team needing something to give them a boost.
It’s not definitive and it’s not a full-blown “he’s back”, but this is a step in the right direction for Tatis and San Diego.