Padres News: Tatis Jr. injury update, Yu Darvish roster shuffle, Joe Musgrove

Thanks once again to Jackson Merrill's innate ability to come up in the clutch, the San Diego Padres were able to salvage a split with the Mets and then defeat the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night. The Padres had looked uncharacteristically vulnerable lately, including an ugly series loss to the Rockies, so sending New York packing with no progress in the wild card race to show for it was a definite W.

On top of that, Padres fans got the news that Yu Darvish was removed from the restricted list and appears to be actually working his way back into San Diego's rotation again. As to how all of this plays into the Padres' outlook the rest of the season, there is a bit to unpack.

Padres News: Fernando Tatis Jr. takes full batting practice, predicts September return

Fernando Tatis Jr.'s leg injury has been a tough development to understand and predict. While some injuries have definitive timetables for recovery, stress reactions in the bone are basically one of those "it takes as long as it takes" sort of things.

Thus far, Tatis Jr.'s progress towards a return has been generally positive (if slow) and fans have been eager to see him back on the field.

It sounds like Tatis Jr.'s return is becoming more and more a reality as not only has he been able to sprint finally, but he took full batting practice on Friday. By all accounts, he both looked and felt good afterwards, and assuming that trend continues it sounds like Tatis Jr. could face live pitching very soon with there being an outside chance the Padres don't even send him out on a minor league rehab assignment.

Padres News: Yu Darvish's arrival meant a bit of roster shuffling for San Diego

While his actual return to the mound is still a ways away as he ramps back up to a starter workload, the news that Yu Darvish is back with the Padres and off the restricted list was beyond a welcome development. Darvish may not be the pitcher he once was, but he is so respected in the Padres' organization that his return seemingly gave the team a nice boost of optimism and energy before he even threw a pitch.

Coming off the restricted list not only means that Darvish is being paid again, but it also meant the Padres needed a 40-man roster spot for him. Luckily, the Padres had some roster fat they could trim and decided to designate Matthew Batten for assignment. Batten wasn't factoring in San Diego's short-term plans and he cleared waivers without issue, so no harm, no foul.

Padres News: Joe Musgrove's downtime on the IL has served him well

When Joe Musgrove returned from the IL after dealing with an elbow injury, Padres fans were anxious to see if he was fully healed up, if he would be rusty after a long layoff, and if he could be as dominant as he's known to be for the rest of the season. So far, his return to San Diego's rotation has been overwhelmingly positive.

After Musgrove dominated the Mets on Friday over seven innings in his longest start since coming back, Musgrove improved his ERA and FIP to a sterling 0.57 and 2.08. Keeping that pace up is going to be basically impossible, but Musgrove looking this good so far is a great sign as the Padres head into a crucial stretch and prepare for the playoffs.

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