Padres activate star Fernando Tatis Jr. after leg injury ahead of playoff push

Fernando Tatis Jr. is back.

The San Diego Padres officially activated their star outfielder on Monday ahead of their matchup with the Detroit Tigers. The game marks Tatis’ first since June 21.

Tatis had been battling a stress reaction in his right thigh when he first went down. He initially landed on the 10-day injured list after dealing with tightness in his leg for a few weeks, which he later revealed had been bothering him for nearly the entire season, and he was hit in the elbow in his final game that left him with a triceps bruise after taking a pitch from Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Colin Rea.

Tatis was officially placed on the injured list on June 22. He’s been recovering ever since, and he was working out at the team’s spring training complex in Arizona last week.

"I'm in a really good place right now," Tatis said, <a data-i13n="cpos:2;pos:1" href="https://apnews.com/article/fernando-tatis-padres-b69cb0f771d5d35c874184abe9a1dcc4"><ins>via The Associated Press</ins></a>. "I feel like I can do anything out there on the baseball field."

Tatis enters Monday’s game with a .279 batting average with 14 home runs and 36 RBI in 80 games this season. The team brought in Bryce Johnson to help replace Tatis, though Johnson was optioned to their Triple-A affiliate on Monday.

The Padres hold a 78-61 record heading into Monday’s game with the Tigers, which kicks off a three-game series and a six-game homestand in San Diego. The Padres are tied with the Arizona Diamondbacks for second in the NL West, and both teams sit five games back from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the standings.