Tatis Jr. Has Huge Night On Rehab; Ever Closer To Return

The drum is starting to beat a little louder for Fernando Tatis Jr. in San Diego these days. While the big league team struggles to right itself after an offensive slump, Tatis Jr. had a huge night at the plate in his rehab stint in San Antonio.

WHAT A NIGHT FOR TATIS! He triples in the 7th inning before being replaced by a pinch-runner. He reached base in all four at-bats and finishes the night 2-for-2 with a triple, a double, 2 runs and 2 walks.@tatis_jr @Padres @MLB @espn @MLBNetwork pic.twitter.com/E7iabYrnfl

— San Antonio Missions Baseball (@missionsmilb) August 10, 2022

Tatis doubled in his first at-bat, tripled in the 7th inning, and reached base in all four trips to the dish, with two walks thrown in. 

He played shortstop on Sunday, and was scheduled to play center field in this one, but wet field conditions forced the Padres to reconsider and keep him on the infield, as they are being super cautious with their young superstar. 

"Reports are that he feels good," manager Bob Melvin said Monday. "He needs some at-bats. He needs some games. ... It's the at-bats that are really going to tell the tale, how he feels from day to day and how he's feeling at the plate."

Melvin cautioned that he wasn't going to pencil Tatis into the lineup every single night upon his return, as he's essentially in his spring training phase. He will split his time between SS, CF and DH.

Tatis is recovering from a broken wrist suffered in the offseason, and is finally just days away from his long-awaited return to the Padres' lineup. 

Photo: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports