Baseball season is right around the corner.
Teams are getting ready for opening day.
But now this $340 million dollar baseball player’s season is in jeopardy because of this fluke.
The San Diego Padres are expecting big things in 2021.
Oddsmakers list the Padres as being the #3 favorite to win the 2021 World Series.
Last year the Padres finished 37-23 and lost in the Division Series to the eventual champion L.A. Dodgers.
Most of the optimism surrounding the Padres revolves around an emerging young core led by 22-year-old shortstop Fernando Tatis, Jr.
In 59 games last year Tatis, Jr. slugged 17 home runs and the Padres rewarded Tatis, Jr. with a $340 million dollar contract.
But in one of the Padres final spring training games Tatis, Jr. left the game with an apparent hip injury.
Fernando Tatis Jr. exits with a team trainer after making a play at shortstop. Hand was on his right hip.
— AJ Cassavell (@AJCassavell) March 23, 2021
All teams want to avoid injuries in spring training.
The point of these games is to let pitchers work on their stuff and stretch their arms out and for the manager to figure out the final couple of roster spots.
Star players rarely play more than a few innings a game and hitters just hope to get their timing down.
Tatis, Jr.’s injury is a catastrophe for a team that enters this season with legitimate World Series hopes.
Now all the Padres can do is wait and hope the test results come back showing as little damage as possible.
Sports with Balls will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
