The Padres will be without right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. at least into early July and perhaps until after the All-Star break after he was placed on the injured list due to a stress reaction in his right leg.
Starting pitcher Yu Darvish, who was scheduled to return from a left groin strain Tuesday, will be out longer after experiencing discomfort in his right (throwing) elbow.
Jhony Brito was optioned to Triple-A to begin the transition to being a full-time starting pitcher, and outfielder Jose Azócar was optioned to Triple-A to get at-bats.
Adam Mazur was recalled and will start Tuesday’s game in place of Darvish. Infielder Eguy Rosario was recalled and might play some outfield. Outfielder Bryce Johnson had his contract purchased from Triple-A and is starting Monday’s game against the Nationals in right field.
Here is the Padres’ lineup:
Padres lineup vs. Nationals LHP Patrick Corbin:
Arraez 3
Profar 7
Machado 5
Cronenworth 4
Solano DH
Merrill 8
Kim 6
Higashioka 2
Johnson 9SP: Waldron
— Kevin Acee (@sdutKevinAcee) June 24, 2024
It was a busy Monday afternoon, headlined by the news about Tatis, which was not all that unexpected but came with a twist.
Tatis has been playing through what the team believed was a quad strain. It did not affect him batting, as he actually had his best stretch of games recently (.354 average with a 1.003 OPS and six home runs in his past 25 starts).
But he was increasingly bothered when running in the field and on the bases. The team decided to get imaging, which revealed what manager Mike Shildt termed a “slight” stress reaction in his right femur.
“He could still play, because he’s been playing with it,” Shildt said Monday afternoon. “But it’s something that it’s not going to get better unless we rest it.”
Shildt said there is no official timetable for Tatis’ return. He likely will not be back immediately when his minimum 10-day stay on the IL is up and could be out until after the All-Star break. Normal healing for the injury, which can also be considered a fracture that occurs when there is too much stress put on a bone, takes at least six weeks.
The Tatis injury is what allows Mazur to be recalled after being optioned to Triple-A on Friday. A player has to stay in the minors 10 days after being optioned unless he is recalled to replace a player going on the IL.
Mazur will essentially just continue in the role he has filled the past few weeks. He made his major league debut June 4, replacing Darvish. The right-hander has a 7.27 ERA in four starts.
Shildt described Darvish’s issue as “inflammation.” Darvish was having the elbow examined and was not at Petco Park on Monday.
“Do we think it’s serious? We don’t,” Shildt said. “As with most of these things early on, there’s optimism. But it’s not blind. So we’ll just continue to evaluate it. But we don’t think it’s going to be too much longer.”
Darvish’s last start was May 29. He also spent 15 days on the IL in April with neck tightness.
The Padres have also been without starting pitcher Joe Musgrove much of the season, as he went to the IL in April with right triceps tendinitis and is on the IL for a second time with a related issue.
Musgrove, who has a bone spur in his right elbow, played catch Monday for the first time since May 31, the day before he went on the IL. He hopes to progress to throwing off a mound in early July. A return later that month, after multiple rehab starts, is possible.
Second baseman Xander Bogaerts, out since fracturing a bone in his left shoulder on May 20, is taking grounders and swinging a bat with his right hand. He is expected to get another CT scan next week and could at that time progress to taking full batting practice. He believes a return before the All-Star break, which begins July 15, is possible.
Brett Sullivan is on the roster serving as backup catcher since Luis Campusano (thumb) went on the injured list Friday.
The Padres are making do with contributions from players such as Donovan Solano and David Peralta. Now they will add Johnson, who played briefly for the Giants the past two seasons, is a switch-hitter who plays all three outfield positions. And Rosario, who helped fill in at third base for Manny Machado early in the season, could also start working in the outfield.
One of Shildt’s favored mantras is that “Winners find solutions.” He was asked Monday how much that is being tested for the Padres, who entered Monday with a 41-41 record.
“It’s tested every day,” he said. “Some days it’s tested more than others. We’re gonna be there for Fernando, we’re going to be supportive of him. We’re gonna be supportive of Yu. We’re gonna continue to be supportive of Bogey and Joe. The show goes on. And we’ve got to figure out how to continue to move this mission forward. We’re gonna get contributions from a lot of different people and gotta continue to find ways to shake hands (at the end of) games and keep this thing moving.
“And those guys will be back at some point, and they’ll be reinforcements. It’ll be like huge trade pieces for us. But no one’s gonna feel sorry for us. We’ve got to buckle down and figure out how we’re gonna compete to win baseball games. And we’ll do that.”
Monday’s pitching matchup
Nationals LHP Patrick Corbin (1-7, 5.60 ERA)
He leads the majors with 99 hits allowed and has a 5.06 ERA in six years with the Nationals. Corbin has allowed two runs over his last two starts, striking out 11 against five walks over 10 ⅓ innings. He has a 4.80 ERA in 120 career innings against the Padres, but he allowed seven runs in five innings in a loss last year.
Here is how Corbin has fared against current Padres:
Padres RHP Matt Waldron (5-6, 3.46 ERA)
He’s allowed two runs or fewer in eight straight starts (1.82 ERA), holding opposing hitters to a .523 OPS over that stretch. Waldron has struck out 47 against 12 walks over his last 49 ⅓ innings. Monday is the one-year anniversary of Waldron’s MLB debut, when he allowed two runs over 4⅔ innings to these Nationals.
Here is how Waldron has fared against current Nationals:
