Padres hopeful Dinelson Lamet won't need second Tommy John surgery

San Diego Padres pitcher Dinelson Lamet was placed on the 10-day injured list after exiting his season debut on Wednesday with tightness in his right forearm.

The Padres initially feared that Lamet would need to undergo Tommy John surgery for the second time in his career. However, the team is hopeful he'll avoid it this season. 

"After all the doctors looked at it -- they did an ultrasound yesterday, and they didn't find any inflammation or any type of fluid or anything in there," Padres manager Jayce Tingler said, according to ESPN's Alden Gonzalez. "The group of doctors and trainers feel that at this moment, right now, they do not need an MRI. And they're pretty encouraged with everything they've kind of tested right now."

The 28-year-old previously underwent Tommy John surgery after the 2017 campaign and spent all of the 2018 season and half of the 2019 season recovering. 

Lamet had the best season of his career in 2020, going 3-1 during the pandemic-shortened campaign with a 2.09 ERA, 0.855 WHIP and 93 strikeouts in 69 innings. 

San Diego will hope Lamet can return after his 10-day stint on the IL, mainly because the Padres are looking to compete with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the top spot in the NL West. 

With Lamet sidelined, the Padres are left with Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, Joe Musgrove and Chris Paddack.