San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. received positive news on his return from a broken wrist, with his doctor saying Tuesday that he can begin swinging a bat in two weeks.
Tatis met with the doctor in Phoenix, where he underwent X-rays and was given the plan for his next steps.
“This was the first time I came out happy after a doctor’s appointment,” Tatis said Tuesday afternoon, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Tatis reportedly injured the wrist in an offseason motorcycle accident in his native Dominican Republic and had surgery in mid-March.
He said once he is cleared to swing a bat off a tee, it will be another 10 days before he can start hitting pitches from a machine. A minor league rehab assignment is likely to follow.
The projected timeline would put Tatis on track to return in late-July or early-August, depending on how his rehab goes.
“Once I have my timing, I feel like we’re going to take off from there,” Tatis said, according to the Union-Tribune. “I’ve been playing this game since I was a kid, since I have memory. So it’s more about getting my body in [baseball] shape.”
Tatis, who signed a $340 million, 14-year contract before the 2021 season, has been doing a number of activities, including taking ground balls, throwing and running. Swinging a bat will begin the last major step of his comeback.
Tatis, 23, led the National League with 42 home runs in 2021 and finished third in the MVP balloting.