Late to start, spring training is not off to a good start for the Padres.
Fernando Tatis Jr., the team's $340 million shortstop who led the National League with 42 home runs last season, has a fractured left wrist and probably will need surgery. President of Baseball Operations A.J. Preller announced the somber news Monday as the team prepared for its first workout here.
Tatis is expected to miss a significant portion of the season. Preller mentioned Tatis could return in about three months. Former NFL team physician and orthopedic surgeon Dr. David Chao said a return in three months from a scaphoid fracture is the best-case scenario. Chao said the location of the injury inhibits healing, and he predicted the injury having sat for so long without treatment means Tatis will need a bone graft. The regular season begins April 7.
