Suspended San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. had a second surgery on his left wrist last week, but the recovery time isn’t expected to alter his status for the 2023 season.
Tatis missed the first four months of this season with a broken left wrist, which he had surgery on in mid-March. He also had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder last month.
Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller confirmed that Tatis had a follow-up wrist procedure, telling The San Diego Union-Tribune in a story published Monday: “We were expecting him to be ready to go for spring training. The timing of the shoulder surgery and the wrist follow-up surgery should line up with the same timeline. He should be able to go for spring training.”
The Union-Tribune, citing multiple sources, reported that there was some concern that the initial surgery Tatis had wouldn’t hold up long term, leading to the decision to have the second procedure. The newspaper reported that last week’s procedure involved replacing the original screws in Tatis’ wrist with a central screw.
Tatis is currently serving an 80-game suspension for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug, a punishment levied by Major League Baseball in August. The ban will sideline him through the early part of next season, although just how long will depend on the length of the Padres’ postseason run.
After upsetting the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Division Series, the Padres open the NL Championship Series against the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday.