The Padres could be facing an extended absence for first baseman Yonder Alonso following a shoulder injury sustained in last night’s contest, reports MLB.com’s Barry M. Bloom. Alonso is slated to have an MRI today after jamming his shoulder while diving to field a grounder. The 28-year-old was already scheduled for an x-ray on the shoulder today as well, Bloom notes, having been hit by a pitch there over the weekend — an incident which led to soreness that cost him two games in this week’s series against the Giants. Losing Alonso would be a difficult setback for the Padres for a number of reasons. The former top prospect is hitting well this season, with a .333/.427/.437 batting line in 103 plate appearances. He’s also the only true first baseman on the 25-man roster, and he’s been the most productive left-handed bat on an exceptionally right-leaning Padres roster.
In other news from the NL West…
- The D-Backs made no promises to Jarrod Saltalamacchia upon signing him to a Minor League deal, writes Zach Buchanan of the Arizona Republic. In fact, chief baseball officer Tony La Russa tells Buchanan that the team wouldn’t have signed Saltalamacchia had he and agent Jim Munsey insisted on being added to the 25-man roster. The club has received virtually no offense from Tuffy Gosewisch thus far — though Gosewisch did respond to Salty’s signing by lacing three doubles on Thursday — but manager Chip Hale said they knew they’d likely be sacrificing some offense for Gosewisch’s glove. The D-Backs were hoping to have more offense from the rest of the order, making the need for production from catcher a bit less glaring. “It depends on how much our shortstop hits, how much our second baseman hits,” said Hale. “You can’t have it be really tough on you after the fifth hitter.”
- Hunter Pence has yet to play in the second season of his five-year, $90MM contract with the Giants, but the right fielder is set to begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Sacramento on Friday, reports Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. Pence is in line for a relatively long rehab assignment, possibly as many as 10 games according to Schulman, in order to make up some of the lost ground from missing Spring Training. Justin Maxwell and Gregor Blanco have shouldered the load in Pence’s absence, but the Giants’ collective .229/.305/.400 line from right fielders clearly isn’t equal to what Pence can provide.
- Dodgers righty Brandon Beachy is traveling with the Dodgers and working with VP of medical services Stan Conte and pitching coach Rick Honeycutt on changing his mechanics, writes Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. The changes, made in an effort to prevent further elbow injury once he’s healed from his second Tommy John surgery, were Beachy’s idea. Conte immediately supported the pitcher’s interest in pitching mechanics and biomechanics. Beachy admitted that he’s having trouble commanding his pitches thus far in bullpen sessions, perhaps in part due to the new mechanics. While he has plenty of time to iron out the kinks, reduced control would be a trade-off Beachy would happily make if it meant avoiding another surgery. “I think I’d rather be less effective and be able to stay healthy for longer than one or two months.”
Ryan Howard to the Padres…
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
BJ Upton for Ryan Howard rumors begin…Now.
Or Melvin, or Kate… Just not Justin.
You may be on to something there. Name me one team that wouldn’t want Kate.
I imagine that Doug Melvin has left fifty messages on Preller’s voicemail already.
This isn’t good for a Padres team hoping for big things this year. They are doing a lot better then they usually do early in the year and although this isn’t like losing Kemp or Upton, losing Alonso for any length of time will effect the team. As a Padre fan, I am hoping this isn’t as bad as they think it is.
I watched the play that caused the injury live, it looked pretty bad.
Just saw the video of the injury, it didn’t look like much until he was rolling around on the ground. The team Dr said it wasn’t separated, so hopefully that is good news. If Alonso could only stay healthy, every time he gets going offensively, he gets hurt.
The Padres will do a lot better across the entire season, even if Alonso is lost for awhile. If it’s going to be a long absence, we have to know management will continue to take an aggressive approach to trades. This isn’t your grandfather’s Padres team.
Ryan Howard and Cody Asche for Melvin Upton and a Single A-level prospect. Padres get 2 lefty bats and Phils clear balance sheet and a spot for Maikel Franco.
The Orioles should be happy to trade Chris Davis to the Padres.
If it doesn’t work out, they could always non tender him.
Chris Davis has a 129 WRC+ why do you want the O’s to trade/non tender him?
I would get over it.
Because he’s a cheater
Morneau might make some sense for Padres, IF both clubs would be willing to trade within own division. Or someone who could be had for next to nothing, fill the temporary void and perhaps benefit from a change of scenery – Nick Swisher?
I’d guess the Rockies would want a lot for Morneau, and I doubt the Padres have a lot of prospect surplus left in the minors. They’re not dealing any of their best prospects for Morneau. Swisher might be an option, but he’s been bad for quite a while now…just looked it up, and his skills have collapsed. I wouldn’t want Swisher under any terms.
All these Ryan Howard suggestion need to stop. Padres have a much better option in Alex Dickerson than trading for Howard.
Dickerson seems like an option, although it doesn’t look like he’s a great first baseman just skimming his minor league numbers. Only other AAA option is Medica who has been awful.
Why not bring up Medica?
Medica’s current K:BB ratio, in AAA, is 28:1. His OBP in AAA is .278. He has 1 homer in 108 ABs, and he’s struck out 25% of the time. He’s not a solution.
Thanks