On the first day of Padres spring training, Padres GM AJ Preller announced that Fernando Tatis Jr. has a fractured wrist, and may have surgery that could require up to 3 months for recovery. This is a brutal blow for the Padres ahead of the start of the season. The Padres do have some infield depth with Ha-Seong Kim and Jurickson Profar, as well as Jake Cronenworth.
Tatis has finished top 4 in NL MVP voting the past two seasons. Tatis slashed .282/.369/.596 with 42 home runs, 99 runs scored and 97 RBIs in 130 games in 2021. The Padres mostly used Ha-Seong Kim at shortstop last season when Tatis missed games due to injury and when he returned to play in the outfield.
Tony Gwynn Jr. gave his thoughts on how the injury to Fernando Tatis Jr. impacts the Padres and if C.J. Abrams could be the answer at shortstop:
