San Diego Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr. Coming Off Injured List After 2-Month Absence

Fernando Tatis Jr. has been out since June 21 with a stress reaction in his right femur, but the superstar outfielder is returning to the San Diego Padres' lineup Monday.

Jun 9, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr. (23) looks on during the sixth inning against the Seattle Mariners at Petco Park. / Denis Poroy-USA TODAY Sports

The San Diego Padres are activating outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. off of the 60-day injured list, the team announced Monday afternoon.

The San Diego Union-Tribune's Kevin Acee was first to report the news.

Tatis has not appeared in a game since June 21 against the Milwaukee Brewers. He left that game with a stress fracture in his right femur, getting knocked out of the All-Star Game and the next 10 weeks of action as a result.

Even coming off such a prolonged absence, Tatis did not go on an official minor league rehab assignment before returning to San Diego. He did spend last week at the Padres' facility in Arizona, though, getting at-bats in against minor league pitchers.

Tatis will start in right field and bat second against the Detroit Tigers on Monday. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. ET.

To make room for Tatis on the active roster, San Diego optioned outfielder Bryce Johnson to Triple-A El Paso. Outfielder José Azócar was also designated for assignment in order to free up a spot on the 40-man roster.

Tatis was batting .279 with 14 home runs, 36 RBI, eight stolen bases, an .821 OPS and a 1.8 WAR in the 80 games he appeared in prior to his injury. The 25-year-old's offensive production was outpacing the numbers he put up in 2023, but his defensive metrics had fallen off and he still wasn't approaching his stats from 2019 to 2021.

Across those three seasons, Tatis hit .293 with a .965 OPS, averaging 48 home runs, 116 RBI, 31 stolen bases and an 8.1 WAR per 162 games. He finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2019, fourth in NL MVP voting in 2020 and third in NL MVP voting in 2021.

Tatis won Silver Sluggers in both 2020 and 2021, then earned a Gold Glove in 2023. He missed the first half of the 2022 season after undergoing wrist surgery, then he missed the second half of the campaign after being suspended for violating MLB's performance-enhancing drug policy.

With all of that in his rear-view mirror, Tatis is set to join the Padres just in time for their playoff push. San Diego is 5.0 games back in the NL West, but they hold a 3.0-game lead for the second NL Wild Card spot at 78-61.

The Padres are an MLB-best 38-21 since June 22, when Tatis was initially sidelined.

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