SAN DIEGO (AP) — Suspended shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. had surgery Tuesday to repair the torn labrum in his left shoulder, the San Diego Padres said.
The surgery was performed in Los Angeles by Dr. Neal ElAttache, the team physician for the Dodgers and the NFL’s Rams. The surgery originally had been scheduled for last week but was postponed because Tatis had strep throat.
Recovery from the shoulder surgery is estimated at four to six months. His spring training could be delayed, but if all goes well, he should be full strength by the time he’s done serving an 80-game suspension for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug.
Tatis missed the first four months of this season with a broken left wrist, an injury that’s believed to have occurred in an offseason motorcycle crash. He was nearing a return from that injury when Major League Baseball suspended him on Aug. 12 for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug. The penalty will sideline him for roughly one-third of the 2023 season.
Tatis suffered multiple dislocations in his left shoulder last season and the Padres had been hoping he would opt for surgery to resolve the problem during the offseason. Tatis chose not to have the surgery, and then broke his wrist, which was not diagnosed until he reported to spring training. He had surgery on the wrist in mid-March.
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