The San Diego Padres placed superstar shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. on the 10-day injured list Saturday, a day after he partially dislocated his left shoulder for the third time this season.
According to manager Jayce Tingler, season-ending surgery "is on the table" if Tatis' condition doesn't improve considerably within the next week or so. But will the Padres -- owners of the second NL wild card spot -- once again roll the dice with Tatis, and hold off his inevitable procedure until the winter?
"Anecdotally, I'm hearing that he had a little more pain this time around than he had the first time. It's tough," MLB Network reporter Jon Morosi told the Tiki and Tierney show on Tuesday. "And all of this now adding on to the fact, this was on trade deadline day -- hours after the Padres really didn't make a huge move. And by the way, what did their neighbors do? Well, the Giants got Kris Bryant, the Dodgers got Max Scherzer and Trae Turner... So, it's tough.
"They now have to start worrying about the Reds gaining momentum and potentially challenging them in the wild card. It's been a tough week of news for the Padres. And Tiki, you know as an athlete how hard it must be when in the back of your mind, you're thinking to yourself, "I'm going to have surgery at some point.' Can you really sell out on that swing and feel great every time at the most elite level in the world? Tough to do, and I think that's what Tatis is going through right now."
Tatis, the frontrunner for NL MVP, suffered the injury on Friday night when he slid awkwardly into third base in the first inning against the Colorado Rockies. After being tagged out, Tatis immediately flipped over and grabbed his left arm in pain, and he eventually walked off the field alongside a Padres trainer.
According to FiveThirtyEight's projections, San Diego (61-47) currently has a 77-percent chance to reach the postseason, and a 5-percent chance to reach the World Series for the first time since 1998. Suffice to say, the Padres can ill-afford to be without Tatis for much longer, as he's slashed an exceptional .292/.373/.651 with a NL-high 31 home runs and 70 RBI in 87 games played.
The entire MLB conversation between Morosi and Tiki and Tierney can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow the Tiki and Tierney Show on Twitter @TikiAndTierney and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.