NEWSLETTER
I felt like I was putting together an infirmary report typing up today’s bits, with all the injury news being the headline-worthy stuff this morning. None of the information was good news for the superstars in question and their teams.
Let’s discuss.
Bad News For the Friars, Fernando Tatis Jr.
San Diego Padres fans will have to continue to be patient regarding the return of star shortstop Fernando Tatis, Jr. after Padres GM A.J. Preller delivered some less than optimal news to the world on Tatis’ latest medical update yesterday. Preller told reporters that Tatis was evaluated on Monday by Dr. Donald Sheridan, who performed his surgery. While Dr. Sheridan confirmed that the healing process is progressing, it hasn’t gone to a point where he can authorize the 23-year-old shortstop to begin taking at-bats.
Tatis was seen taking ground balls and getting in some catch-and-throw work on the Wrigley Field infield on Tuesday, but that’s all he has been cleared to do now.
According to Padres beat writer Dennis Lin, Preller did not share any information regarding an updated timeline for Tatis’ return. The Padres, who have won seven of their last 10 games and are in a virtual tie with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the top spot in the NL West, will be taking it “week-to-week” with Tatis’ recovery from the wrist surgery a few months ago.
Tatis was asked by reporters on Tuesday what he feels his timeline might look like once he is cleared to take swings. Tatis stuck to the script, only offering up that he “feels like [they] have a good plan” in place, but noted that he is proud of the team’s performance in his absence despite the difficulty of being sidelined still now two-plus months into the season.
“It’s been hard being on the sideline, but I’m proud of the team. They’re one of the best teams in baseball.”
Tatis knows that his long absence due to a wrist surgery that resulted from an offseason motorcycle has come (and will continue to come) with a degree of criticism about the maturity of the 23-year-old, to which Tatis says he’s working on learning how to ignore the noise but notes that it’s a work in progress.
“There’s a lot of noise out there. There’s always been a lot of noise out there for me,” Tatis told reporters at Wrigley Field on Tuesday. “I feel like I’ve done a little bit of a good job of learning how to control that and not letting it affect me, but it’s a learning process.”
For now, it’s just a wait-and-see approach for Tatis and the Padres.
Walker Buehler to Miss Significant Time
Sticking with the NL West injury theme here, the Dodgers will be without Walker Buehler for a significant amount of time as he rehabs from a flexor strain and the removal of a bone spur this week.
On Saturday, Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts said that the Grade 2 flexor strain wouldn’t require surgery and that rest and rehab would be the prescribed remedy. Buehler will not pick up a baseball for 6-8 weeks, and the overall timeline for return could be as long as 10-12 weeks.
While speaking to reporters in the clubhouse this week, Buehler said that he had a procedure to remove a bone spur done this week since the timelines for recovery on the two injuries are the same. Buehler noted that the bone spur was something he had been dealing with for a few years, but the time was right with the recovery from the flexor strain looming.
The Dodgers are 38-23 and tied with the Padres atop the NL West but losing Buehler for up to three months is a big blow despite his 4.02 ERA (which is likely at least in some part due to the injuries he was dealing with).
I’m not a mathematician, but this feels like the type of injury that will have the Dodgers operating without Buehler well into mid-late September and potentially into October if the rehab doesn’t go exactly according to plan.
Liam Hendriks is Dealing With a UCL Tear, Forearm Strain
When it rains, it pours, right? More bad news on the injury front around baseball surfaced on Tuesday when the White Sox placed closer Liam Hendriks on the IL with a right forearm strain, finally explaining why Hendriks’ usage has been so little in June.
Hendriks told reporters in Detroit on Tuesday that in addition to the forearm strain he’s dealing with right now, he has also been managing a small tear in his UCL since 2008. Hendriks said that throughout this season, his “elbow has been constantly inflamed a little bit more than usual.” Hendriks said that the White Sox are operating on a three-week rehab window for the newly diagnosed forearm strain and that he’s looking at July 1 for his return to action.
