Tatis (stress reaction) targets return after All-Star break

SAN DIEGO -- The Padres will be without star right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. through the All-Star break and potentially longer, after Tatis was diagnosed with a stress reaction in his right leg. San Diego placed Tatis on the IL on Monday after he’d been playing through the injury for much of the first half.

Recent imaging revealed the specific issue to be a stress reaction in Tatis’ right femur. It hasn’t limited Tatis’ performance at the plate, as he has turned in an All-Star-caliber campaign, hitting .279 with an .822 OPS -- including a 1.062 mark in June. But the injury has plainly impacted Tatis’ ability to run the bases and cover ground in the outfield.

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"I have some serious stuff in my leg that could get worse, and I definitely don't want that," Tatis said following the Padres’ 7-6 walk-off victory over the Nationals on Monday night. "I was playing through it, and I probably could've kept going. But the doctors recommended to heal it now. That way, it doesn't get worse. It's just better that way."

Tatis has been one of the best hitters on the Padres this season, and he’s in the mix for a starting spot in the All-Star Game. That now appears highly unlikely. The Padres did not offer a specific timetable for his return, and Tatis was hesitant to do so, as well. But he did acknowledge that he’s targeting the second half of the season.

“It’s going to be some time,” Tatis said. “With the right stuff, we’re trying to aim after the All-Star Game. But we’re talking about something serious in my bone in my right leg.”

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Tatis’ placement on the IL was part of a major flurry of moves for the Padres on Monday -- including news that Yu Darvish would not return to make his start on Tuesday as originally planned. Darvish, Shildt revealed, is dealing with “a little inflammation in his [right] elbow.” Darvish is still being evaluated, but Shildt added: “Do we think it’s serious? We don’t.”

Darvish has missed the past four weeks with a left groin strain and spent time earlier in the season on the IL with a neck issue. In his place, the Padres recalled right-hander Adam Mazur, who had been previously filling Darvish’s spot in the rotation. They demoted righty Jhony Brito with the intent of building him up toward a starter’s workload at Triple-A El Paso.

Taking Tatis’ place on the roster is switch-hitting outfielder Bryce Johnson, who batted ninth and played right field Monday against the Nationals. The lefty-hitting David Peralta seems likeliest to slot into Tatis’ spot on most nights. But Shildt noted that both Johnson and Tyler Wade would receive starts.

“The show goes on,” Shildt said. “We’ve got to figure out how to continue to move this mission forward. … We’re going to get contributions from a lot of different people, and we’ve got to continue to find ways to shake hands at the end of games.”

That’s the important part. The Padres’ 10-inning victory over Washington on Monday brought them a game above .500, in sole possession of the National League’s final Wild Card spot. Already, San Diego has Xander Bogaerts (left shoulder fracture), Luis Campusano (left thumb bruise), Joe Musgrove (right elbow inflammation) and Darvish on the IL.

On Monday, they added Tatis to that list. Meanwhile, Jurickson Profar (left knee patellar tendinitis) and Manny Machado (right hip flexor strain) have played through injuries recently. From that entire group of players, the Padres haven’t ruled anyone out for the season. It’s possible that the majority of those players return and make major contributions down the stretch. But the current state of the playoff race means the Padres must find a way to withstand their absence.

“No one’s going to feel sorry for us,” Shildt said. “We’ve got to buckle down and figure out how we’re going to compete to win baseball games. We’re going to do that.”

Added rookie center fielder Jackson Merrill: “It sucks. … But I’m really grateful that we found it now and that he’s not going to play on it. Because I want to play with him for the next eight or nine years rather than the next two months. I want him to get healthy. We’ll take care, we’ll hold it down while he’s gone.”