The Padres announced they’ve selected first baseman/corner outfielder Alfonso Rivas onto the big league roster. San Diego also activated Manny Machado from the 10-day injured list, placed designated hitter Nelson Cruz on the 10-day IL with a right hamstring strain, and optioned outfielder José Azocar to Triple-A El Paso. In order to open a 40-man roster spot for Rivas, catcher Luis Campusano has moved from the 10-day to the 60-day IL.
Rivas signed a minor league deal with the Padres over the winter. The Chula Vista native had previously appeared in the big leagues with the Cubs. He impressed in an 18-game rookie showing in 2021 but struggled over a longer stretch of play last year. The lefty-swinging Rivas has a .247/.331/.322 line with four home runs and a lofty 30.7% strikeout rate against MLB pitching.
Chicago released Rivas in January. He secures another MLB look with his hometown club following a huge showing in Triple-A. Rivas is hitting .319/.440/.571 over 200 trips to the dish in El Paso. He’s taken a walk in a massive 17% of his plate appearances with a lower than average 18.5% strikeout percentage. Minor league success is nothing new for the University of Arizona product. Rivas is a career .294/.398/.434 hitter below the MLB level.
With Cruz landing on the IL, the Padres had room to add another bat. Rivas joins Matt Carpenter and Brandon Dixon as bat-first options off the bench. Cruz, signed to a $1MM deal over the winter, hasn’t made the impact the team had expected. The veteran slugger owns only a .238/.270/.381 mark over 111 trips to the plate.
Middling production towards the bottom of the lineup has been an issue for San Diego. The Friars rank 23rd in run scoring, leading to a 26-30 record that has them in fourth place in the National League West. Machado has an uncharacteristic .231/.282/.372 line himself, and his tough season continued when he suffered a tiny fracture in his hand on a hit by pitch a couple weeks ago. That cost him around two weeks of action.
Campusano has been out since mid-April with a left thumb injury. He underwent surgery last month and isn’t expected back until the All-Star Break. His IL transfer backdates to the April placement and there was no way he’d return in the next couple weeks. That makes this no more than a procedural transaction.
Gee, I’m happy
I’ll just make sure my grandma has a hold on her gold tooth
Your screen name suggests your grandma is long dead. You have to be like 70 right?
Or do you mean your going to guard her headstone from 1905
This is interesting because without Azocar that makes Tatis the backup CF in theory. I wonder if we’re going to start seeing him there some.
He’s been taking reps as of late.
Gotta wonder if the Pads string a few together, if Grisham’s on a short leash now and they go after a RF at the deadline with Tatis moving to CF. He’s looked pretty good in right so far with the exception of a few bad routes..but he’ll only get better with time.
Azocar gives them a spark, this does seem like a confusing move.
Good to see Machado back in the lineup. He should help guide them to the playoffs.
Hopefully he regresses to the mean, sooner rather then later. In the meantime the Padres pitching staff quietly had the lowest era in all of baseball in May. And Wacha was named NL pitcher of the month.
What does mean mean?
I believe his avg career numbers offensively
Mark this date in the calendar. Padres will go beast mode the rest of way! Have excitement? A lot! Yes, to the moon? Yes, all the way!
Neo Murder’s Row will debut.
Well, let’s hope they finally get above .500, Sanchez can fill the gap till Campy comes back, and they can reproduce what they did in Miami with RISP.
I seriously doubt it.
Yes
An Austin Nola signed ‘game used’ bat is up for auction on the Padres website. It should fetch a pretty penny since it has no marks or dents from a baseball hitting it…
I LOL’D at that!
Salary…of all the players they could’ve picked to donate a bat. I had no choice but to crack a joke about it. Hahaha
Good to see the kid from Chula Vista gets to wear the brown and gold.
Campusano is a head case (not hyperbole, there are newspaper articles about this issue). Putting him on the 120 day list would do the team some good.
And why replace Sanchez with anybody? The way he’s been hitting I don’t think anybody expected it.
Sanchez has about 20 AB this year.
Nola is really stinking up Petco Park. I don’t know if Johnny Bench would have been more than a back-up catcher at production like that and Nola is no Johnny Bench. On the bright side, who would have believed me if I had predicted that at this point in the season, Wacha would be San Diego’s best pitcher?
I’m not really picking on the Padres. I have no doubt things will turn around for them but I imagine Nola’s running out of leash. I would also assume Padres fans are ready right now to see him DFA’d.
Yes Austin Nola’s bat has quite a few hits left in it due to no game results, the reason his bat is for auction is related to family support for ALS for LGD.
I was at the game last night that’s exactly what it was. I believe it’s going to be curtains for Nellie
Last night was another weak hitting performance by a lineup that’s paid way to much money to produce as inconsistently as they do.
Tatis and Soto are hitting a tad better. Bogey and Manny look almost confused at the plate. Jake looks like a statue half the time.
Carpenter, Grish and Nola couldn’t hit a baseball if it was a barn-door.
Odor and Sanchez, the least likely, have been the biggest producers.
Maybe it’s about time to look at the issue and fire or hire…whatever they have to do to get a real deal, solid hitting coach ASAP! Also, somebody in analytics that knows what they’re doing as well.
But, what do I know? I still argue balls and strikes from the 300 section.