San Diego Padres star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. has been placed on the 10-day injured list but will not need surgery after the latest injury to his troublesome left shoulder, general manager A.J. Preller said Tuesday.
Tatis suffered the injury on a hard swing Monday and left San Diego’s 3-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants. The Padres on Monday said Tatis had suffered a shoulder subluxation, which is a partial dislocation of the joint.
Preller said Tuesday that further exams showed a slight labrum tear consistent with a subluxation. He said the injury is “nonsurgical.”
The Padres hope Tatis can return as quickly as 10 days. Preller said the shortstop has full range of motion and that he wanted to be in the lineup Tuesday.
“In general for us, I think it’s just being safe, giving the left shoulder inflammation and some of the instability [a] chance to calm down,” Preller said.
Padres manager Jayce Tingler told reporters after the Giants game that Tatis had experienced minor dislocations in the past but said Monday’s incident was the most pain he had ever seen Tatis in. Tingler also said the nagging shoulder issue might have been bothering Tatis “more than we realized.”
Tatis crumpled to the ground in pain after swinging and missing at a 2-2 pitch from San Francisco’s Anthony DeSclafani in the third inning, leaving Petco Park in silence. He walked off the field with assistance from Tingler and a trainer, cradling his left arm against his body.
Tatis also left a game late in spring training with left shoulder discomfort after making a backhand play but returned two days later. Tingler said then that Tatis had been dealing with left shoulder discomfort since his minor league days. Tatis later said he’d had it since rookie ball.
Tatis, 22, struggled through the first five games of this season, batting just .167 and committing five errors, although he hit a 465-foot home run Sunday in a loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. He signed the longest contract in big league history on Feb. 22 — a 14-year, $340 million deal.
If Tatis is sidelined for an extended period, Tingler said San Diego’s “first option” at shortstop would be rookie Ha-Seong Kim, who replaced Tatis on Monday. Jake Cronenworth, Jorge Mateo and Tucupita Marcano also potentially could play shortstop.
ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez and Jesse Rogers and The Associated Press contributed to this report.