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April 16 (UPI) -- The San Diego Padres activated shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. from the 10-day injured list and inserted him into the starting lineup for Friday night's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Petco Park. The Padres optioned infielder Tucupita Marcano to the team's alternate site to make room on the active roster.
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Tatis spent the past 10 days on the IL while recovering from a subluxation in his left shoulder. He suffered the injury while taking a huge swing during a game against the San Francisco Giants on April 5.
It was the third reported incident with that shoulder in a span of a month, an issue that Tatis has admittedly been struggling with during his MLB career.
Subluxations, which occur when the shoulder partially dislocates, often require surgery, but there are instances in which players are able to manage the ailment for an extended period of time. The Padres are hopeful that Tatis can avoid surgery so early in his professional career.
"The reality is you get out there and the game speeds up, adrenaline, all those things," Padres manager Jayce Tingler told reporters. "We tried to use the last seven, the last 10 days, to talk with the medical team how can we best minimize the risk.
"Look, these things are going to happen in the game. And so just trying to do the best we can at talking about what are some of the danger points, or the high-risk levels. The last thing we want is here in a couple days, a couple weeks, a couple months, is something happening again.
"We've got a long year this year, and obviously he's got a long career ahead of him. We've tried to cover those things with the full understanding that he's going to get out there and be a ballplayer as well."
The 22-year-old Tatis recorded a .301 batting average with 39 home runs, 98 RBIs, 27 stolen bases and eight triples over his first two seasons, a total of 143 games.
Tatis compiled only three hits in 18 at-bats over his first five games this season.
