Tatis returns to Padres in time for playoff push

SAN DIEGO — Star right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. was activated from the 60-day injured list Monday by the San Diego Padres after being sidelined for more than two months with a stress reaction in his right thighbone.

Tatis was batting second in the opener of a three-game series against the Detroit Tigers. The Padres entered the day in a virtual tie with Arizona for the National League’s top wild card.

Tatis last played June 21. He was put on the injured list June 24, retroactive to June 22.

He spent last week working out at the team’s spring training complex in Arizona.

Tatis received a warm welcome in the clubhouse, including an emphatic hug with center fielder Jackson Merrill, considered by some to be the leading contender for NL Rookie of the Year.

“I’m in a really good place right now,” Tatis said. “It’s not 100 percent, but I’ve been cleared from the doctors and I feel really good moving forward. I feel really confident and I feel like I can do anything out there on the baseball field.”

On the day he was placed on the IL, Tatis said he had been dealing with the injury for essentially the whole season. It was first described as a quadriceps injury, but the team discovered the stress reaction after imaging.

“I’m really excited to just come and join the squad,” Tatis said. “Just add a little bit more to what this group has been doing. I said the day I was going down this is a special group and I know they’re going to be playing good baseball, and the boys have been handling it the right way.”

Tatis won the NL Gold Glove and Platinum Glove awards last year in his first season in right field.

He was an All-Star at shortstop in 2021 before missing the 2022 season due to injury and a PED suspension.

Tatis was hitting .279 with 14 home runs and 36 RBIs when he went on the IL.

Merrill said he’s “ecstatic” that Tatis is back.

“Energy is contagious. It’s going to rub off on everybody, especially his energy, his swagger. It’s huge,” Merrill said.

“It’s fun to write him in there,” manager Mike Shildt said. “He brings a lot to the table, obviously.”

Outfielder Bryce Johnson was optioned to Triple-A El Paso.