Padres place Tatis on IL with hamstring strain
Fernando Tatis Jr.'s stellar debut season has come to a sudden halt.
The San Diego Padres have placed the rookie shortstop on the 10-day injured list with a strained left hamstring, the team announced Tuesday.
The extent of Tatis' injury is still unknown, and though San Diego is hopeful it will be a brief absence, he's currently undergoing tests to determine a timetable for a return, MLB.com's AJ Cassavell reports.
"We care a lot about him, we think a lot of him, we love the way he's started his big-league career," manager Andy Green said Monday. "We're going to take care of him. We're going to put him in the position where he has his best shot at health for a long period of time."
San Diego's No. 1 prospect - who's also considered one of the top prospects in all of baseball - injured his hamstring in the 10th inning of Sunday's game against the Washington Nationals. Tatis did the splits while making a play at second base and appeared to be in significant pain afterward.
For the moment, the Padres have opted to replace the 20-year-old by shifting Manny Machado from third base to his natural shortstop position. Rookie corner infielder Ty France will draw in at the hot corner for Tuesday's game in Atlanta.
The team did not recall Luis Urias, another one of its top shortstop prospects, after Tatis' injury. Urias struggled to hit during his brief stint in the majors earlier this month.
After forcing his way onto the Padres' roster in spring training, Tatis continued his hot play in April, hitting .300/.360/.550 with six homers, 13 RBIs, and six stolen bases in 27 games.
San Diego recalled reliever Phil Maton from Triple-A El Paso in a corresponding roster move.