It was learned Monday that the impressive Fernando Tatis, Jr. will be out with a femoral stress reaction. He was placed on the 10-day IL. This is terrible news for the San Diego Padres, but allow me to explain why it may become bad news for baseball fans.
To a doctor, a stress reaction means nothing. A stress fracture, however, is an appropriate diagnosis. Yet, this language sounds terrible to the unassuming fan. Thus, I have it sourced that Major League Baseball’s teams use this new soft language instead of fracture to lessen the “stress” on their fans.
A stress fracture is a small fracture in the outer bone cortex. It is caused by repeated stress, usually from weight-bearing, with high-loading activities such as distance running and professional sports. It may be significant inflammation causing a buildup of bony matrix (material) at the fracture site or a more severe fracture affecting other bone layers. The term “stress” derives from the mechanism of injury of added stress being placed upon the bone beyond what the bone can sustain.
Any non-displaced fracture usually heals easily on its own but not within ten days, though most players are placed initially on the 10-day IL with this injury.
Why is this potentially bad for baseball fans? Like Evan Carter with the Texas Rangers, who will miss more than a month with his lumbar stress fracture, these injuries can linger and result in enough time missed to prompt a short rehab assignment. With the All-Star Game upcoming in less than one month, the possibility that Tatis misses the best exhibition game in professional sports is now a genuine concern.
There are two possible outcomes since the usual time for a fracture to heal is six to eight weeks and as few as about four weeks with bone growth injections. Tatis is back by the all-star break and taking it easy until the fracture heals completely, probably DHing only, or he is out until approximately August. Only Fernando’s body knows how it will recover. The rest of us must wait and see.
Let’s hope for all baseball fans everywhere that this roster transaction is largely precautionary and that Tatis has no further aggravation of this injury that would keep him out longer than anticipated.
