Fernando Tatis Jr. injury history and updates

Sep 17, 2021; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. (23) walks off the field after the third inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 17, 2021; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. (23) walks off the field after the third inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /
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Fernando Tatis Jr injury updates

June 14

Unfortunately, the results of Tatis’ June 13 CT scan were not what the Padres hoped. Per Kevin Acee,

"“Fernando Tatis Jr.’s CT scan yesterday did not reveal the level of healing the Padres hoped. The timeline will be moved back.”"

June 13

Tatis went for a CT scan. If the results reveal “enough healing” in his wrist, he will be able to begin swinging a bat again.

Of course, swinging the bat is only the first step in a ramp-up that will still take weeks. His projected return is now July.

May 7

Tatis was seen doing drills over the weekend, an encouraging sign for the Padres, who desperately need him back in the lineup.

April 12

Fernando Tatis Jr. says he is “getting better every single day… going as planned – probably a little bit sooner, but we’ll see.”

The Padres placed him on the 60-Day IL, though, so the earliest he can return is June 7.

March 14

Tatis fractured his wrist during the offseason. He will likely need surgery, but either way will miss up to three months, meaning he won’t be close to ready for Opening Day.

According to MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell, Tatis first experienced an issue with his wrist “about a month ago” but thought he could work through it. Whether the injury was caused by a minor motorcycle incident in December is unclear.

It’s also unknown if Tatis violated his lucrative contract (see below) by riding a motorcycle, as many athlete contracts have a Hazardous Activities Clause (also known as the Jim Lonborg Clause) embedded to prevent reckless injuries.

Fernando Tatis Jr. injury history

2021

Recurring subluxation of his shoulder limited Tatis to 130 games in 2021, but he avoided surgery and still excelled offensively. He also missed time when placed in Health & Safety protocols in May, and was day-to-day with an oblique injury in June.

2020

August

Tatis went from listed as day-to-day to the 60-day IL with a back injury

2019

April 

Tatis went on the 10-Day IL in April 2019 with a hamstring injury.

Fernando Tatis Jr.’s contract

Ahead of the 2021 season, Tatis signed an enormous 14-year extension with the Padres that will pay him $340M. He’s only being paid $5M of that in 2022, but the salary increases substantially every year, and by 2029, he’ll be making $36M per season until the end of his contract.