ATLANTA (AP) - San Diego Padres rookie shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. did not start against the Atlanta Braves on Monday night because of a hamstring injury.
Tatis woke up Monday with soreness in the hamstring, which was hurt when he did an awkward-looking split while trying to stretch for a throw at second base Sunday at Washington. He left the game.
Tatis, who entered the year as a top prospect, is hitting .300 with six homers and 13 RBIs.
Though Tatis remained on the active roster, manager Andy Green said it’s too soon to know if the rookie will avoid the injured list. He said the team will be careful to protect the health of one of its top young players.
“We care a lot about him. We think a lot of him. We love the way he’s started his big league career,” Green said. “We want to take care of him. We want to put him in the best position where he has the best shot at health for a long time. We haven’t made any final determinations of what that plan is at this moment.”
A decision on the injured list could be made by Tuesday.
Greg Garcia is making his first start of the season at shortstop and as the leadoff hitter.
Green wouldn’t say if Manny Machado might move from third base to shortstop if Tatis is placed on the injured list. Machado played a combined 147 games at shortstop for Baltimore and the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2018.
“I think we always talk about what the options are,” Green said. “Those are things that until we have to use them I think we’ll keep to ourselves. But yeah, we have a lot of options open.”
The only other player to start at shortstop for San Diego this season is Luis Urias, who was optioned to Triple-A El Paso on April 21. Urias was named the Pacific Coast League’s player of the week on Monday after he hit five homers in his last two games.
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