San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. moved closer toward his 2022 debut, taking batting practice on the field for the first time this season in advance of Tuesday’s game at Detroit.

Tatis, 23, has not played this year after surgery to repair a broken left wrist, an injury that occurred in a motorcycle crash this past offseason in his native Dominican Republic.

The dynamic hitter has finished in the top four of either Rookie of the Year voting or MVP voting in each of his first three major league seasons. He led the National League with 42 home runs last season while finishing third in the MVP vote.

In 273 career games, Tatis has 81 home runs and 195 RBIs to go along with a .292 batting average and a .965 OPS. He was an All-Star for the first time last season.

Without Tatis, the Padres still have managed to build a 54-44 record, good for second place in the NL West before the start of play Tuesday. But San Diego is 11 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers after the teams were tied for first place as recently as June 22.

–Field Level Media