Fernando Tatis Jr. Set to Make Padres Spring Training Debut Next Week, Melvin Says

Fernando Tatis Jr. could be back on the field by Tuesday.

San Diego Padres manager Bob Melvin told reporters the tentative plan is for the 24-year-old to make his spring training debut by midweek in the upcoming slate of games, which could mean playing in Tuesday's contest against the division-rival San Francisco Giants.

Tatis has not played since the 2021 season. He missed the 2022 campaign because of wrist surgery and an 80-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball's performance-enhancing drug policy.

He has 20 games remaining on that suspension, but he is eligible to play in spring training.

"There's an instinctual component to when you play, and we wanna make sure that he checks all the boxes," Melvin said of Tatis' preparations for his return, per Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.

Gonzalez noted the Padres' plan is to primarily play Tatis in right field instead of his previous shortstop role after they signed Xander Bogaerts this offseason. That will also put less stress on Tatis over the course of the season after he underwent the wrist surgery, surgery on his labrum in his left shoulder and then another wrist procedure since last playing in a game.

San Diego is in championship-or-bust mode after adding Bogaerts to a lineup that already features Manny Machado and Juan Soto and reached last season's National League Championship Series.

Having a healthy and productive Tatis would only make that group look more dangerous. He was an All-Star and Silver Slugger who finished third in National League MVP voting in 2021 with a .282/.364/.611 slash line, 42 home runs, 97 RBI and 25 stolen bases.

It may not be realistic to expect that version of Tatis in 2023, but he will take an important first step toward reestablishing himself when he plays in his first spring training game.