Under The Knife 4/5/23

Across from the Hotel Adolphus

I’m working on something long form I hope to show you soon, but for now let’s just get right to it:

FERNANDO TATIS JR, SS/OF SDP (strained shoulder/rehab, suspension)

The JDA is very specific about how many games ahead of a drug suspension ending can a player go on a “rehab assignment” for lack of a better term. It’s not specific on what to call that, even when it says where and when the player can go. For the Padres and Fernando Tatis Jr, Tuesday was the first game he could play and he did so in Triple-A El Paso.

Tatis showed in spring training that his wrist and his shoulder aren’t having significant issues. The shoulder was more a concern for me, given his late date for it and the long recurrent issues he’d had. If that is fixed for good, the suspension might well be worth it given how reluctant Tatis was to have that surgery (and the mixed results of it when done.)

That continued in his first game Tuesday in El Paso. Per the MiLB web site, “San Diego Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. went 1-for-2 with two walks, an RBI single and a stolen base in his first MLB rehab game with El Paso. It was also his first career Triple-A game. Tatis started in right field and led off for the Chihuahuas.” Not a bad night at all. A source on the ground scouting Tatis told me he looked very normal, very calm, and that he saw no alterations to his swing, though he wanted to go back and look at more tape.

Tatis will get some more games ahead of his April 20th activation. We’ll have to see if Tatis is challenged during this stint, whether he dives in the field or on the bases, and if he shows power, but all the early signs are positive. That’s good for the Padres, bad for the NL West, and we’ll see how it’s taken in baseball as a whole. My guess is that steroids isn’t nearly the sin it once was, especially if the player isn’t testing records.

BRETT BATY, 3B NYM (inflamed thumb)