SAN DIEGO — Star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. suffered a partially dislocated left shoulder Friday night in the San Diego Padres‘ 9-4 loss to the Colorado Rockies.
It was the third time Tatis, 22, left a game this year due to a left shoulder injury. He was the NL’s starting shortstop in the All-Star Game.
Padres manager Jayce Tingler said Tatis’ injury is similar to his two previous ones and that the team will know more Saturday.
“I don’t know how to compare them. They’ve all been a little bit different,” Tingler said. “We’re of the understanding that this was a possibility, the shoulder coming out and then back in. The good thing is it slid back in.
“It’s so tough to predict, especially without a lot of information at this point. I will say, for whatever reason, he’s had a phenomenal ability of getting back in there, honestly sooner than we’ve expected. But again, it’s tough to say without having a lot of information.”
Tatis singled in the first inning and advanced on Manny Machado‘s sharp grounder to third baseman Ryan McMahon, who came up with the ball but then had it pop out of his glove and roll behind him into short left-field. Tatis made a dash for third but shortstop Brendan Rodgers ran toward third, took the throw from McMahon and tagged out the sliding Tatis.
Tatis slid awkwardly over the bag and crumbled in pain a few feet away, bringing a hush over Petco Park. Tingler and a trainer helped Tatis off the field as he winced in pain, holding his left arm. The trainer was holding Tatis’ upper arm/shoulder.
“It looked painful. … I’m sure the Padres are crossing their fingers that this isn’t a long-term thing,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “That’s a blow to baseball. He is one of the best players in the game.”
Tatis suffered a partially dislocated left shoulder on a violent swing April 5 against San Francisco and went on the injured list. He reinjured the shoulder and left a game against Cincinnati on June 19, although he missed only one game. Tatis left a spring training game after hurting the shoulder while making a throw but was back two days later.
Tatis also missed eight games in mid-May after testing positive for COVID-19.
Tatis came into the game batting .290 with an NL-best 31 home runs, 23 stolen bases, 78 runs scored and a .650 slugging percentage. His 70 RBIs are third in the NL.
Tatis is known for making spectacular plays at shortstop although he currently leads the majors with 20 errors. He became the first Padres player voted to start an All-Star Game since Tony Gwynn in 1999.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.