The Padres announced today that second baseman Jake Cronenworth has been placed on the seven-day concussion-related injured list. Infielder Sung-Mun Song was recalled to take his place on the roster. The Friars also reinstated left-hander Yuki Matsui from the 15-day IL and optioned fellow lefty Kyle Hart.
The club hasn’t released any details on Cronenworth’s injury, such as how he sustained it or how long they expect him to be shelved. For what it’s worth, he hasn’t been in good form all year. He is currently sporting a .144/.272/.196 line on the season. Ideally, some time to heal up will get him back in good form. He had a strong .246/.367/.377 performance just last year.
His injury will allow Song to get his first real major league action. The Padres signed him this offseason to a four-year, $15MM deal. He got that coming off a strong two-year showing in South Korea, slashing .327/.397/.524 over 2024 and 2025 with the Kiwoom Heroes.
He hasn’t yet had a chance to transfer that kind of production to North America. An oblique issue popped up in January and ultimately put him on the IL to start the year. After he got healthy and completed a rehab assignment, the Padres sent him to the minors in mid-April.
He was briefly recalled when the Padres were facing the Diamondbacks in Mexico City, as the club was allowed a 27th man for that series. Song technically made his major league debut but in about the briefest way possible. He pinch ran for catcher Luis Campusano in the top of the eighth and then was replaced by Freddy Fermin in the bottom of the frame.
Song has a .293/.364/.354 line in Triple-A this year. That looks okay but is actually subpar in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, translating to an 82 wRC+. For what it’s worth, he’s been heating up. He departs El Paso sitting on an eight-game Triple-A hitting streak with a .351/.400/.459 line in that time. That’s a small sample but it’s possible he was just getting into a groove after starting the season injured.
He’s been splitting his time between shortstop, second base and third base. Presumably, Song will take over as the everyday second baseman while Cronenworth is out, though it’s perhaps worth considering the Fernando Tatis Jr. wild card. The Padres have been operating without a real backup middle infielder this season. Cronenworth has been the backup to shortstop Xander Bogaerts while Tatis has been the backup to Cronenworth.
Tatis came up as a shortstop but has been in right field for years. He only had one inning of major league experience at second base prior to this season but has logged 49 frames there in 2026. If the Friars felt comfortable with it, they could try Tatis there more often while Cronenworth is out. Tatis is out to a slow start this year, with a .252/.324/.301 line and no home runs yet, but he has a strong track record and a .275/.353/.504 career line.
The Padres have Ramón Laureano and Jackson Merrill next to Tatis in the outfield most nights. If they were to move Tatis to second from time to time, that would create more opportunities for guys like Miguel Andujar, Gavin Sheets, Nick Castellanos and Bryce Johnson.
Castellanos and Johnson aren’t hitting much right now but Andujar has a .305/.337/.476 line. He has been used mostly at third base and in the designated hitter spot this year but has some corner outfield experience. Sheets is hitting around a league average level while mostly playing first base. If he did play the outfield a bit more, that could open things up for Ty France, who has a .283/.321/.528 line this season.
Perhaps the Padres won’t overthink things, especially with Cronenworth potentially only missing a week. It’s possible they will go the simplest route and just have Song at second for the next little while. He is indeed at the keystone tonight, with Tatis in his usual right field spot.
Photo courtesy of Isaiah J. Downing, Imagn Images
His offense is offensive