Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr. reveals ‘good place’ he’s in after injury return…

The San Diego Padres have played well as a ballclub despite having missed the services of right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. for over two months after he had suffered a stress reaction in his right thighbone. But now, after much anticipation, Tatis was able to make his triumphant return to the Padres lineup in a 3-0 win over the Detroit Tigers on Monday night.

Tatis has not had the healthiest big-league career thus far. He missed the rest of the 2022 season due to a PED suspension and then a subsequent injury, and then his production at the plate went down in his return year in 2023. But the Padres right fielder feels as though he is in a good place these days, which is a good sign as he looks to round back into form quickly upon his return from the 60-day injured list.

“I’m in a really good place right now. It’s not 100 percent, but I’ve been cleared from the doctors and I feel really good moving forward. I feel really confident and I feel like I can do anything out there on the baseball field,” Tatis said, via ESPN.

Of course, it will be a bit of a concern for the Padres that Fernando Tatis Jr. isn’t yet 100 percent. Thus, there is always the risk of a re-aggravation of the injury in his thigh. Nevertheless, the mental side of things is half the battle when it comes to recovering from injuries, and it is promising for both Tatis and the Padres that the 25-year-old’s confidence is through the roof.

With great confidence usually comes great results, especially for a player with as much talent as Tatis does. Thus, it shouldn’t be long before he puts his substandard 0-4 night in his return game against the Tigers in the rearview mirror. Whatever the case may be, Tatis is simply raring to rejoin the Padres lineup and make an impact as they look poised to make it back to the postseason.

“I’m really excited to just come and join the squad. Just add a little bit more to what this group has been doing. I said the day I was going down this is a special group and I know they’re going to be playing good baseball, and the boys have been handling it the right way,” Tatis added.

Make no mistake about it, the PEDs aren’t what made Fernando Tatis Jr. a good player. Tatis already had plenty of natural talent. But the correlation between his PED usage and MVP-level performances in the past is very hard to deny. In his first three seasons in the big leagues, Tatis slashed .292/.369/.596 to go along with 81 home runs and 195 runs batted in. Since his return in 2023, his slash line has fallen to .265/.333/.454 — solid numbers, but not the elite production he once had.

Nevertheless, this drop-off in production may have something to do with him being less than 100 percent. The Padres right fielder said that he had been dealing with the injury in the affected area way before he landed on the 60-day injured list with a stress reaction in his right thighbone. Perhaps his lengthy absence and injury recovery would do him a world of good and allow him to return to his previous levels of production.

Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he’s a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.