San Diego Padres star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. exited Saturday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds early with an apparent injury to his left shoulder, the same one that gave him trouble in spring training and landed him on the injured list at the start of the regular season.
Tatis, the National League leader in home runs, hurt the shoulder while diving to his right on an eventual base hit to left field in the fifth inning. Tatis immediately grabbed the shoulder, then exited alongside one of the Padres’ trainers.
Tatis suffered a subluxation — when the shoulder essentially slips out of position but doesn’t fully dislocate — after a violent swing on April 5. It was his third reported incident in a 23-day span with that left shoulder, one he previously said has given him problems since he began playing professional baseball at the age of 16. But Tatis, now 22, missed only nine games, opting to manage the shoulder mostly with strengthening exercises as opposed to undergoing season-ending surgery.
Since then, Tatis has continued to put together a dynamic offensive season, with a .285/.364/.675 slash line, 22 home runs and 13 stolen bases in only 55 games. But the shoulder might be an issue once again.