SAN DIEGO (AP) — Star right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. was activated Monday by the San Diego Padres after being sidelined for more than two months with a stress reaction in his right thighbone.
Tatis was set to bat second in the opener of a three-game series against the Detroit Tigers. The Padres entered the day in a virtual tie with Arizona for the NL’s top wild card.
Tatis last played on June 21. He was put on the injured list on June 24, retroactive to June 22.
He spent last week working out at the team’s spring training complex in Arizona.
Tatis received a warm welcome in the clubhouse, including an emphatic hug with center fielder Jackson Merrill, considered by some to be the leading contender for NL Rookie of the Year.
“I’m in a really good place right now,” Tatis said. “I feel like I can do anything out there on the baseball field.”
On the day he was placed on the IL, Tatis said he had been dealing with the injury for essentially the whole season. It was first described as a quadriceps injury, but the team discovered the stress reaction after imaging.
Tatis won the NL Gold Glove and Platinum Glove awards last year in his first season in right field.
He was an All-Star at shortstop in 2021 before missing the 2022 season due to injury and a PED suspension.
Tatis was hitting .279 with 14 home runs and 36 RBIs when he went on the IL.
Outfielder Bryce Johnson was optioned to Triple-A El Paso.
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