The Padres announced Tuesday that star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. suffered a fractured wrist during the offseason and could miss up to three months to recover.
General manager A.J. Preller revealed the news during a press conference but did not confirm how the injury occurred. However, he did allude to the reported motorcycle accident that the 23-year-old Tatis was involved in the Dominican Republic in December.
According to Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune, Tatis suffered “minor scrapes” in the accident. However, when speaking to the media Tuesday, the Padres shortstop seemingly admitted that he was in a number of minor accidents during the offseason.
When a reporter asked him when the originally reported motorcycle accident occurred, Tatis replied, “Which one?” He remained vague when asked to clarify the date of the accident in ensuing questions.
Tatis signed a $330 million, 14-year contract with San Diego during spring training last year. According to ESPN’s Jesse Rogers, the Padres aren’t likely to recoup any salary–or void the 23-year-old’s contract–because the team is unable to determine if the motorcycle crash was the direct cause of the injury.
While Preller initially said that Tatis was set to undergo surgery on his fractured left wrist, the shortstop later said that a decision on a procedure had not been made.
Tatis missed 32 games last season with a dislocated shoulder but still managed to piece together another brilliant year. He batted .282/.364/.611 with a league-leading 42 home runs and 25 stolen bases on his way to finishing third in National League MVP voting.
Now set to miss the start of the 2022 campaign, Tatis will likely be replaced by Jake Cronenworth or Ha-Seong Kim at shortstop until he is able to return.
