Despite two separate stints on the injured list because of shoulder issues, San Diego Padres’ star Fernando Tatis Jr. is no longer being considered for offseason surgery, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Speculation first centered on Tatis undergoing surgery during the season, but he returned from his second spell on the IL in August to play in the outfield, which was considered less demanding on his shoulder. He returned to the infield for the final few weeks of the regular season.
Tatis has now elected to skip surgery and will undergo strength exercises to return to full health with an eye toward becoming a full-time shortstop again.
Tatis first injured the shoulder in April on a swing, then aggravated the injury in late July on a slide. He played a career-high 130 games in his third major league season and hit a National League-leading 42 home runs.
In 273 career games, Tatis has a .292 batting average with a .965 OPS and has 81 home runs with 195 RBIs. He was a first-time All-Star this season after finishing fourth in NL MVP voting in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
–Field Level Media