Why Fernando Tatis Jr. should’ve opted for shoulder surgery

The San Diego Padres’ best player is Fernando Tatis Jr. and their success essentially hinges on Tatis being healthy. He led the National League in WAR this season and hit 42 homers. If he wasn’t healthy for the amount of games he was healthy for, there’s no way the Padres would’ve been in contention in September.

The Padres will continue to rely on Tatis to be an energizer at the top of the lineup but his chances of being available at the top of the lineup may have gone down now that he is not going to be having left shoulder surgery, according to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Tatis dislocated his left shoulder multiple times in 2021 including while he was hitting and baserunning. He missed 30 games this season and had to go on the ten-day IL immediately almost every time after he suffered the subluxation. Missing 30 games in 2022 could prevent the Padres from winning the NL West or making the playoffs.

I’m not here to tell Tatis what he has to do, as I am obviously not a doctor. However, I do know that if he were to have the surgery, he would’ve still been ready for Spring Training and it would allow him to further stabilize his left shoulder so that it doesn’t have to go through any extensive damage from repeated dislocations. The surgery may also prevent future dislocations, according to NYU Langone Health.

The simple reason why Tatis should’ve had the surgery is because he really wants to win a championship for the city of San Diego and for the Padres to do that, Tatis has to be healthy. Tatis’ chances of staying on the field would’ve increased if he had the surgery.

Now we have to just hope he continues to strengthen the shoulder and alter his playing style to prevent himself from dislocating that shoulder again on diving plays or big swings at the plate. I certainly would’ve been more confident in Tatis’ ability to stay healthy in the future at shortstop if he would’ve gotten the surgery than I do now with no surgery.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you think Fernando should’ve opted for the surgery?