Amid the best stretch of their season, the San Diego Padres won nine of their past 11 games despite having four of their highest-paid players on the injured list. Here are a few takeaways on when those players might return.
Fernando Tatis Jr. could miss much of the second half
Tatis is targeting a post-All-Star-break return after being diagnosed with a stress reaction — a precursor to a stress fracture — in his right femur. The right fielder declined last week to share an exact timetable.
Advertisement
One medical expert who has not examined Tatis but possesses experience with femoral stress reactions said that, based on the nature of such injuries, a late-July comeback likely would be “optimistic.”
“One rule that some people go by is … from the time we start treatment until the pain goes away, it takes about equal time until he goes back,” said Dr. Timothy Gibson, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, Calif. “So if he’s pain-free in two weeks, then he might be able to play in two additional weeks. But if it takes him four weeks to be pain-free, it could take eight weeks.
“These are injuries that I always tell people it’s difficult to have as a patient and difficult to treat because it’s out of our hands. We have to wait and see how your body responds. It can be four weeks. It could be 20 weeks. It just depends.”
Dr. Gibson added that Tatis should make a “100 percent recovery” while noting that femoral stress reactions are rare for baseball players. That might help explain why the Padres did not order imaging on Tatis’ right leg until June. (Tatis had complained of quad tightness since April.)
“This is an injury that often is picked up a little later because it presents as a muscle strain often and he’s not the profile of an athlete that would typically get it,” Dr. Gibson said. “You know, you don’t think a baseball player is going to get a stress reaction of his femur. It just isn’t that common. You think of a runner or somebody who does more repetitive high impact.”
Dr. Gibson said that if he were treating Tatis, he would examine the outfielder’s conditioning and weightlifting programs, his footwear, and “what stress you’re putting on the bone away from the game to be prepared to play.”
Another potential consideration would be the amount of baseball Tatis has played after more than a full year of relative inactivity. Last season, following his return from multiple surgeries and a suspension, Tatis started 140 of 142 games. He then played winter ball in his native Dominican Republic before starting 79 of the Padres’ first 80 games this year.
Advertisement
Xander Bogaerts could be back around the All-Star break
Bogaerts, who fractured his left shoulder in May, will undergo his latest CT scan on Monday. If the imaging shows enough healing, the second baseman could embark on a rehab assignment soon thereafter. Bogaerts is hoping to return before the All-Star break, but a mid-to-late-July target might be more realistic.
Either way, Bogaerts appears to be on or ahead of schedule. He progressed last week to taking on-field batting practice, a significant test amid his recovery. To protect his shoulder, Bogaerts has been using a two-hand finish on each swing. He expects to continue doing so upon his return.
“It feels good. And obviously it’s a little different; my swing has a different feel,” Bogaerts said last week. “But for the most part, even in practice, I normally swing with two hands. So I’m used to that in practice.”
Bogaerts also plans to keep the Axe bat that he began swinging earlier this season.
“I think I will. And the reason I will is because it actually gives me the best ability to keep both hands on the bat,” Bogaerts said. “I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s the shape or something, but it definitely gives me the best ability to do that. … With my own bat, it’s not as easy to keep both hands on the bat.”
Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove remain major question marks
Imaging taken last week on Darvish’s inflamed right elbow revealed no structural damage, according to Padres manager Mike Shildt, and Darvish subsequently resumed playing catch. The team, however, will be cautious with its oldest starter. Darvish, who last pitched for San Diego on May 29, has been sidelined with three separate injuries this season: neck tightness in April, a groin strain in June, and now, elbow inflammation.
Meanwhile, Musgrove has progressed to long toss as he rehabs his own elbow injury. The Padres’ second-oldest starter has not pitched since May 26, and Musgrove learned early last month that he has a bone spur and a bone bruise in his elbow. His move to the 60-day injured list on Friday was mainly to clear roster space for the addition of reliever Austin Davis; Musgrove still could return as soon as late July.
For now, though, both Musgrove and Darvish remain major question marks. In addition to relief help, the Padres continue to seek rotation reinforcements ahead of the July 30 trade deadline.
(Top photo of Fernando Tatis Jr.: Denis Poroy / Getty Images)
