Will Fernando Tatis Jr. undergo shoulder surgery?

Fernando Tatis Jr. gave an interview Tuesday to the media and shared some details of how is he planning on managing his shoulder injury, he knows the severity of it, but is taking good care of his body and hopes to avoid surgery:

“I say that’s at the top of my head right now,” Tatis said Tuesday on avoiding surgery.

The San Diego Padres shortstop made it clear that the surgery could happen, but there is a possibility he won’t do it. Padres organization believes it’s most likely he will repair a labrum tear in his left shoulder, but nothing is one hundred percent.

On Monday, he was pretty sure when he talked to Dominican media:

He expressed his desire to get back to shortstop as soon as possible.

But on Tuesday, he further explained his statement about “ruling out having surgery on my shoulder”

“There is always the doctors’ standpoint and their point of view,” he said. “Everything, we’ll put it together. We’ll throw it on the table. Me and important people after that we’ll discuss it. … We’ll just see what’s in front of us and try to make the smart decision.”

Tatis went to IL two times because of his subluxation in left shoulder, which he has partially dislocated four times already. Tatis played 20 games in the outfield so far, 14 in August, he had five home runs and eleven runs batted in, and he was only batting .228 / .323 / .579. In September, his average is only .200 and he has one home run in six games played. That first game back from injury, which he was 4-for-5 with two home runs, his season average went up to the .300, but after these 20 games, his season average has dropped to .278.

Tatis still leads the National League with 37 home runs and is third in stolen bases with 24, despite missing 32 games due to his injuries.

Fernando is extending work in shortstop the last few weeks, and said about returning to his favorite position next year: “I think everybody’s on the same page”. And asked about returning to shortstop this season:

“That’s something I gotta discuss with my manager,” he said.

With Tatis in the outfield, Jake Cronenworth has played 36 games at shortstop and Adam Frazier, the team’s midseason acquisition has slid into the second baseman role. So the team has a feasible solution with Tatis in the outfield, but it would be nice to see Tatis return to his primary position soon.