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San Diego Padres SS Fernando Tatis Jr. was removed from Tuesday’s game vs. the Chicago Cubs as a precaution due to right oblique tightness, the team announced. Tatis had gone 0-for-3 at the dish before exiting the game. The Padres trail the Cubs 4-3 in the 7th inning and Ha-Seong Kim came in to replace Tatis at shortstop.
The NL MVP candidate has been on a tear lately, entering Tuesday batting .299 with 16 HRs, 37 RBI and a 1.091 OPS in 38 games this season. He trailed only Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Atlanta Braves in terms of odds to win NL MVP on DraftKings Sportsbook at +450. Tatis has already missed some time this season due to a shoulder injury. The oblique is always tricky as we’ve seen superstar players miss time due to similar injuries. Hopefully Tatis can avoid a stint on the injured list but the Padres also need to proceed with caution.
Tatis entered the night tied for the NL lead in HRs (which Acuna took back with his 17th on Tuesday night). Tatis also entered the night ranked 3rd in the NL in RBI and 8th in WAR at 2.5. If the Padres can come back and defeat the Cubs, they’ll be tied with the San Francisco Giants (34-20) for first place in the NL West at 35-21. As of now, the Giants trail the Los Angeles Angels early in their matchup Tuesday night.