- The Padres activated catcher Luis Campusano from the 10-day IL prior to yesterday’s game, and optioned infielder Eguy Rosario to Triple-A in the corresponding move. A left thumb contusion sent Campusano to the IL on June 21, and as expected at the time of the placement, Campusano didn’t miss much beyond the 10-day minimum. The catcher has hit an underwhelming .234/.282/.371 over 220 PA and defensive metrics have painted a rough picture of his glovework, even though Campusano remains in line for the majority of playing time over Kyle Higashioka.
- Ketel Marte is day-to-day with back tightness, as the Diamondbacks announced after the second baseman made an early exit from yesterday’s 10-8 loss to the Padres. Manager Torey Lovullo explained to reporters (including MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert) that Marte has been bothered by his back for a few days, and still played eight innings on Friday before requiring a pinch-hitter in the ninth. The 43-45 D’Backs can only hope that Marte’s back problem doesn’t continue to linger, as the star second baseman has been a big reason why Arizona continues to linger in the wild card race. Marte is hitting .284/.353/.506 with 17 home runs over 380 PA, and while fans recognized this performance by voting Marte into the NL’s starting lineup for the All-Star Game, this back problem might also raise concerns that he could miss the Midsummer Classic.
Padres Rumors
Padres Sign Carl Edwards Jr. To Minor League Deal
The Padres signed right-hander Carl Edwards Jr. to a minors contract, as first reported by the MadFriars X account earlier this week. Edwards has already gotten onto the field with an appearance yesterday with the Padres’ Arizona Complex League squad. This is Edwards’ second stint in the Padres organization, after first playing for San Diego in the latter half of the 2019 season following a deadline trade from the Cubs.
That 2019 season ended up being something of an unfortunate turning point in Edwards’ career, as coming off three very solid seasons as a member of Chicago’s bullpen from 2016-18, he stumbled to an 8.47 ERA over 17 innings with the Cubs and Padres in 2019. San Diego parted ways with Edwards after the season, and he has since bounced around to six different organizations, including another return trip to the Cubs on a minors deal this past offseason.
Chicago released Edwards from that contract in mid-June, as Edwards triggered his opt-out clause in order to force the Cubs’ hand on deciding whether or not to promote him to the big league roster. Edwards had a 1.85 ERA over 24 1/3 innings for Triple-A Iowa, and even though the Cubs have been hit hard by bullpen injuries in the last few weeks, Edwards’ 14.6% walk rate might have been enough of a sticking point for the Cubs to hesitate about bringing him to the majors.
The 32-year-old Edwards will now look to another former team for another crack at getting his first taste of MLB action in 2024. Despite his journeyman status, Edwards has posted solid results over the last two years with the Nationals, including a 2.76 ERA in 62 innings in 2022, and then a 3.69 ERA in 31 2/3 innings before a stress fracture in his throwing shoulder ended his season early.
It has now been over a year (since June 19, 2023) since Edwards last pitched in a big league game, and his work Iowa suggests that Edwards is at least healthy, if some questions might remain about whether or not he’s ready to face big league batters. There’s no risk for the Padres in inking Edwards to a minors deal to see what he’s got, and Edwards now brings an experienced depth option to a San Diego bullpen that has been somewhat inconsistent for most of the year.
Padres Select Austin Davis
3:30pm: The Padres have made it official, announcing they have selected Davis to the roster. Left-hander Tom Cosgrove was placed on the 15-day injured list with left elbow inflammation to open an active roster spot. To get Davis onto the 40-man, right-hander Joe Musgrove was transferred to the 60-day IL. Musgrove has a bone spur in his right elbow and has been on the IL since May 29. He’s now ineligible to return until 60 days from that date, which would be late July. He still hasn’t begun a rehab assignment and will need a few weeks to build up once he does.
11:29am: The Padres are planning to call up left-hander Austin Davis prior to tonight’s series opener against the Red Sox, reports Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. They’ll need to formally select his contract from Triple-A El Paso and open a spot on the 40-man roster, though that can be accomplished in rather straightforward fashion by transferring Xander Bogaerts (who’s out with a fracture in his shoulder) from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL.
The 31-year-old Davis hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2022 but has appeared in parts of five MLB seasons. He’s posted a lackluster 5.61 earned run average in that time while showing an ability to miss bats (25% strikeout rate) but also some troubles with walks (11%) and home runs (1.25 HR/9).
Though he doesn’t have much of a big league track record, Davis has been sharp in El Paso this season. The journeyman southpaw has a 3.10 ERA in 29 frames and has been outstanding since a shaky start to the year. Over his past 23 1/3 innings, Davis boasts a 1.93 ERA with 32 punchouts and 13 walks. That’s still too many free passes, of course. It’s perhaps worth noting that four of those walks were intentional, but that’s offset by the fact that he’s also plunked four hitters along the way.
Davis’ effectively wild tenure with the Padres’ Triple-A club marks a stark turnaround from a disastrous Triple-A run with the Astros a year ago, when he walked 34 batters and allowed 32 runs in just 25 1/3 innings. Even with that career-worst performance skewing his track record, Davis sports a 4.19 ERA, 29% strikeout rate and 13.6% walk rate in parts of five Triple-A campaigns.
If Davis can carry this season’s success over to the majors and carve out a longer-term spot on the roster, he’d be controllable for three seasons beyond the current campaign, though he has quite a ways to go before that’s a real consideration. The left-hander is out of minor league options, so he’ll have to stick on the roster or else be designated for assignment before he can be sent back down to the minors. Even if he were to clear waivers in such a scenario, he’d have the right to reject a minor league assignment in favor of free agency by virtue of the fact that he’s been outrighted previously in his career.
Padres Sign Nabil Crismatt To Minor League Deal
Right-hander Nabil Crismatt is headed back to the Padres organization, the pitcher himself announced via Instagram. Crismatt, who was released from a minor league deal with the Rangers earlier this week, signed a minor league contract with San Diego, reports Annie Helibrunn of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
The 29-year-old Crismatt has logged 177 innings across parts of five MLB seasons with four different teams — but the vast majority of that work (159 2/3 innings) has come as a member of the Padres. He suited up for San Diego from 2021-23 and logged a combined 3.83 ERA with a 21.1% strikeout rate, 7.7% walk rate and six holds in that time. Crismatt made his big league debut with the 2020 Cardinals and has also pitched for the D-backs and Dodgers since leaving San Diego (in addition to this year’s Triple-A stint with Texas’ top affiliate).
The Dodgers signed Crismatt to a minor league deal over the winter and gave him seven innings of work in the big leagues early this season. He allowed a pair of runs on seven hits and no walks with six strikeouts in that L.A. cameo but was nevertheless designated for assignment and passed through waivers. He opted for free agency, signed a minor league pact with the Rangers in late May, and spent about a month with their Round Rock affiliate.
Crismatt has been tagged for a 6.46 ERA in 23 2/3 Triple-A frames between the Dodgers and Rangers this season, though he sports a much stronger K-BB profile than that mark would suggest: a 23.4% strikeout rate and tiny 3.8% walk rate. He’s been plagued by a BABIP near .400 between those two stops, which has helped to inflate his earned run average.
For now, Crismatt will head to El Paso to serve as a depth option for the Friars. But given their familiarity with the right-hander and his solid big league track record — a 3.71 ERA overall in his 177 MLB innings with solid strikeout and walk rates — it wouldn’t be a surprise if he got a look in the majors at some point in the relatively near future.
Padres Place Fernando Tatis Jr. On Injured List
Monday marked a busy day on the transaction front for the Padres. San Diego placed star right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to June 22, with a right femoral stress reaction. The Friars also optioned outfielder José Azocar and right-hander Jhony Brito to Triple-A El Paso. Filling the three spots on the active roster: outfielder Bryce Johnson, infielder Eguy Rosario and right-hander Adam Mazur. Johnson was not on the 40-man roster, but the Friars have had a vacancy for weeks.
The Tatis injury is the biggest development. Manager Mike Shildt indicated that Tatis could play through the issue but that it wouldn’t fully heal without rest (X link via Annie Heilbrunn of the San Diego Union-Tribune). The team isn’t providing a specific return timetable, though they expect it to be longer than the minimal 10 days. It’s not out of the question that Tatis is sidelined through the All-Star Break.
Any absence is a major blow to the San Diego lineup. Tatis has been one of the top outfielders in the National League this year. He’s hitting .279/.354/.468 with 14 home runs across 345 plate appearances. Tatis has trimmed his strikeout rate to a career-low 20.6% clip while making hard contact on a massive 53.4% of batted balls. There’s no easy way to replace that kind of production.
It seems the Pads could roll with a David Peralta/Johnson platoon in right field for the time being. The lefty-swinging Peralta is only hitting .204/.306/.241 over 25 games since being called up last month. Johnson, a switch-hitter, has yet to play in the majors this season. San Diego signed the 28-year-old to a minor league deal in January. The former Giant has reached base at a massive .430 clip over 259 plate appearances with El Paso. Johnson is hitting .301 while drawing walks more than 15% of the time. He has also swiped 18 bases in 20 attempts. Johnson is in the lineup against Patrick Corbin this evening.
Mazur returns to the big leagues just three days after being optioned. (He didn’t need to wait the minimal 15 days because he is technically being recalled to replace the injured Tatis.) In actuality, he’s more directly a replacement for Yu Darvish. San Diego anticipated the right-hander returning from the injured list tomorrow. However, Heilbrunn tweets that Darvish is battling some inflammation in his throwing elbow. While Shildt downplayed the long-term concern, he won’t be ready for MLB action tomorrow.
Darvish has been out since May 30 with a strained left groin. The late revelation of a new elbow concern is suboptimal, though it doesn’t seem the Padres are especially alarmed at this point. The injury will force San Diego to turn back to the 23-year-old Mazur for his fifth big league start. The former second-round pick has allowed 14 runs over his first 17 1/3 innings. Mazur has walked more than 19% of batters faced, a bizarre issue for a pitcher who has shown pristine control in his minor league career.
Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune observed (on X) that Johnson was in the clubhouse prior to the team announcement.
Injury Notes: Luplow, Brown, Darvish
Outfielder Jordan Luplow, who signed a minor league deal with the Phillies in March, is done for the year with a right knee ACL tear. The account @Kram207 was among those to relay the info on X.
Luplow has mostly been a small-side platoon guy in his career, as the right-handed hitter has a line of .227/.338/.495 against lefties over several seasons. This year, he had stepped to the plate 254 times at the Triple-A level with a line of .255/.343/.450. His splits were closer to even with the IronPigs, though in a small sample of 184 plate appearances against righties and 70 against lefties.
Perhaps there would have been a path to playing time in the Philadelphia outfield. Johan Rojas struggled enough to get optioned down to the minors. Brandon Marsh and David Dahl are lefties with notable platoon splits. The right-handed counterparts in their platoons are Whit Merrifield and Cristian Pache, who are both struggling.
With this season-ending injury for Luplow, that won’t be an option for the Phils to even consider anymore. Perhaps Edmundo Sosa will be a factor on the grass, since he has a bit of experience out there and played well while Trea Turner was on the IL. The Phils don’t have a lot of holes heading into the July 30 trade deadline but adding an intriguing righty bat to the bench could be one target, especially with Luplow no longer there as a depth option.
Some other notable injury updates from around baseball…
- The Cubs placed right-hander Ben Brown on the injured list a couple of weeks ago with a neck strain, though subsequent reporting provided the more ominous-sounding diagnosis of a stress reaction in his neck. The timeline was and is murky, but Brown was able to throw from 90 feet recently, per Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune. Brown says that he was told at the time of his diagnosis that he’s already through the worst of his ailment. Montemurro describes the prognosis as a “two- to three-month burnout period,” with the first month being the worst. Brown and Jordan Wicks hit the IL within a week of each other, thinning the Cubs rotation and forcing Kyle Hendricks back into a starting role. The club is 37-41 but that still has them two games out of a playoff spot in the weak NL race. The club will try to ramp Brown up from here as long as there are no symptoms and hopefully get him back into the mix as his body allows. He has a 3.58 ERA on the year through 55 1/3 innings.
- The Padres are another club in that NL race with some rotation injuries but Yu Darvish will be back tomorrow, with AJ Cassavell of MLB.com relaying the word from manager Mike Shildt on X. Darvish had made 11 starts with a 3.20 ERA before landing on the IL with a left groin strain. He and Joe Musgrove landed on the shelf at the same time, forcing the club to use less experienced hurlers like Randy Vásquez and Adam Mazur. With Mazur posting an ERA of 7.10 in his first four starts and getting optioned recently, the return of Darvish should give the San Diego rotation a boost. The Friars are 41-41 and currently holding the final Wild Card spot in the National League, but there are seven clubs within three games of them.
Padres Notes: Campusano, Tatis, Profar
The Padres placed catcher Luis Campusano on the 10-day injured list today with a thumb contusion, per a team announcement. Catcher Brett Sullivan was recalled to the big league roster in a corresponding move. Fortunately, Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune relays that the Padres don’t expect Campusano’s stay on the shelf to be a long one as it likely won’t require more than a minimum stay of ten days.
After a 2023 season where Campusano was limited to just 49 games by injuries but appeared to break out at the plate with a .319/.356/.491 slash line (good for a 134 wRC+), the former top prospect’s 2024 campaign has been somewhat disappointing. He’s appeared in 66 of the club’s games this year but has mustered only a .234/.282/.371 slash line, which even in the game’s current deflated offensive environment is good for a wRC+ of just 89. That’s hardly a terrible mark for a catcher, but it’s nonetheless a far cry from the offensive output San Diego was surely hoping for after Campusano flashed the ability to be a star-level bat behind the plate when healthy enough to take the field last year.
With the 25-year-old sidelined for the time being, veteran backup Kyle Higashioka figures to step in as the club’s regular behind the plate while Campusano heals up. That leaves backup duties to Sullivan, 30, who had a three-game stint with the Padres earlier this year after making his MLB debut with the club last season. In a 33-game cup of coffee with San Diego last year, Sullivan struggled to a .210/.244/.284 slash line in 86 trips to the plate and appeared to be below average defensively behind the plate both in terms of framing and controlling the running game, although he does have a reputation as a solid blocker.
While Campusano was the only player the Padres placed on the shelf today, he’s not the only member of their starting lineup nursing an noteworthy injury. As MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell explored last night, both Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jurickson Profar exited yesterday’s game against the Brewers due to injuries. Profar departed due to tendinitis in his left knee that he’s been dealing with throughout the season to this point, while Tatis left because of a left triceps contusion, though Cassavell notes that he also appeared to be favoring his right quad, which he notes the young star has been playing on despite an injury for weeks.
Both players were out of the lineup today, though Profar told reporters (including Cassavell) today that he would be available off the bench for today’s game against Milwaukee and that he’s been managing the injury successfully to the point where it isn’t getting worse. Manager Mike Shildt, for his part, indicated to reporters last night that the club wasn’t especially concerned about either Profar or Tatis and that both believed they could play through their current ailments.
It’s easy to see why the Padres wouldn’t want to lose either player to the injured list. In 80 games this season, Tatis has looked good with a .279/.354/.468 slash line (139 wRC+) with eight stolen bases, while Profar leads all NL hitters with a .415 on-base percentage and sports an even more impressive 162 wRC+ as the club’s everyday left fielder. With the duo standing out as perhaps the club’s two biggest run producers in a strong lineup that also features Manny Machado, Luis Arraez, and Jackson Merrill, it’s hard to measure how difficult things could get for the Padres if they were to lose Profar and Tatis for a significant period. After all, that strong offense has only translated to a 40-40 record to this point in the season that leaves them in the mix for an NL Wild Card spot among a group of eight teams that are within three games of .500.
Padres Prioritizing Right-Handed Bullpen Help
The Padres are known to have strong interest in White Sox lefty Garrett Crochet as they seek upgrades in the rotation, but Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that a “shutdown right-handed reliever” is San Diego’s “top” priority at the moment.
A right-handed reliever makes sense for the Padres, whose contingent of late-game arms skews somewhat left-handed. Beyond closer Robert Suarez, the Friars’ top right-handed arms are Jeremiah Estrada and Enyel De Los Santos. Estrada has been sensational this season, logging 21 innings of 0.86 ERA ball with an enormous 43.2% strikeout rate against an 8.6% walk rate. De Los Santos sports a solid-looking 3.54 earned run average, but he’s surrendered a whopping eight home runs in just 28 innings of work (2.57 HR/9). He has six holds but generally hasn’t been the preferred option in leverage spots — hardly all that surprising given his home run woes.
Other right-handed options in manager Mike Shildt’s bullpen include Rule 5 pick Stephen Kolek and long reliever Jhony Brito. Kolek has been knocked around for an ERA just shy of 6.00 while sporadically working into low-leverage spots as the Padres try to navigate the season with him on the big league roster. Brito has been used primarily for long relief and has pitched well in that role. He’s unlikely to move into shorter, higher-leverage stints.
Estrada and southpaw Yuki Matsui have been the primary options in setup situations for Suarez. But Estrada pitched only 39 1/3 innings last season and has no track record of big league success aside from this year’s out-of-the-blue breakout. He’s also been more effective against lefties than righties, though neither has been able to mount much in the way of offense against him.
San Diego’s reported interest in Crochet and their early-season trade activity could be instructive when looking to potential bullpen targets. Beyond the Crochet’s general excellence, he’s also being paid just an $800K salary this season. In the Padres’ acquisition of Luis Arraez, they not only convinced the Marlins to pay down the remainder of Arraez’s salary to league minimum but also to take back the two-year, $4.5MM contract of reliever Woo-Suk Go. It’s logical to expect they’ll have particular interest in lower-salary relievers (or in paying a heavier prospect premium to convince a trade partner to pay down salary).
San Diego is just about $12MM shy of the luxury-tax threshold, per RosterResource, with a bottom-line payroll of $166MM. They’ve been unafraid to spend beyond their means in the past, but the Padres also slashed payroll by more than $80MM this past offseason. It seems unlikely they’d take back a reliever on a notable contract unless said reliever’s current team included cash to help facilitate the swap.
Oakland’s Mason Miller stands as one obvious option — and he’s precisely the type of star-caliber player Padres president of baseball operations tends to pursue with nearly unrivaled aggression. Teammate Lucas Erceg, just reinstated off the injured list today, is another speculative candidate who’d fit the bill. Other names will become clearer as July 30 inches closer and as teams more concretely plot their deadline trajectories. Some speculative names to keep in mind on current fringe contenders include the Ryan Helsley (Cardinals), Yimi Garcia (Blue Jays) and Hunter Harvey (Nationals) to name only a few.
Joe Musgrove Diagnosed With Bone Spur In Elbow
Joe Musgrove landed on the 15-day injured list over the weekend, his second such stint of the 2024 season. The Padres initially called the issue elbow inflammation. They provided more clarity this evening, announcing that an MRI revealed a bone spur (link via AJ Cassavell of MLB.com).
While there’s relief in Musgrove avoiding any ligament damage, the bone spur is going to keep him out well beyond the minimal two weeks. Cassavell writes that the former All-Star will be shut down entirely for two weeks. He could begin playing catch at that point, but that’ll likely require a multi-week build before he’s ready for a minor league rehab assignment. Musgrove conceded that he could require arthroscopic surgery if the injury doesn’t heal with rest, but that’s not currently under consideration. He recently received a platelet-rich plasma injection.
With a little more than five weeks before the All-Star Break, it seems likely Musgrove will be out into the second half of the season. His rehab process will determine whether he’s back at Petco Park before the trade deadline. The Padres are likely to look for starting pitching regardless — they’ve already been tied to White Sox breakout lefty Garrett Crochet — but Musgrove’s injury only adds to the uncertainty.
Dylan Cease, Michael King and Matt Waldron are the clear top three in the rotation at the moment. Yu Darvish landed on the 15-day IL alongside Musgrove, though it doesn’t seem that he’ll miss much time rehabbing a groin strain. San Diego recalled righty Randy Vásquez and promoted rookie Adam Mazur to step into the starting five. Vásquez carried a 5.74 ERA into tonight’s start against the Diamondbacks. Mazur made his MLB debut on Tuesday. Jackson Wolf, owner of a 5.83 ERA over 11 Triple-A appearances, is the only other starter on the 40-man roster.
San Diego’s rotation has turned in average results through the season’s first couple months. They’re 14th with an even 4.00 earned run average despite ranking fifth in MLB with a 24% strikeout rate. Darvish, Cease, Waldron and King have each allowed between three and four earned runs per nine with solid swing-and-miss numbers. Musgrove has had a disappointing season as he tried to navigate the elbow soreness. He has tossed fewer than five innings per start with a 5.66 ERA and a 20.6% strikeout rate that would easily be the worst of his Padres tenure.
MLBTR Podcast: Gambling Scandal, The State Of The Blue Jays And The Orioles’ Rotation Depth
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- Tucupita Marcano of the Padres betting on baseball while with the Pirates (1:05)
- The Blue Jays are struggling but Ross Atkins says trading Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette doesn’t make sense (7:50)
- The Orioles lost John Means and Tyler Wells to surgery but also called up Connor Norby (17:45)
- While recording, we get the news of Marcano’s lifetime ban and find out the identities of the other players who were suspended (23:45)
Plus, we answer your questions, including…
- Since the Brewers and Willy Adames didn’t reach an extension, is there any chance the Brewers consider trading him this summer? (24:25)
- It seems like there are more season-ending injuries, but is there any data to support that? If there is, is MLB taking a look at mitigating? (28:25)
- What will be the financial components of the deadline? Are there any teams that might have a surprising amount of payroll room? (33:50)
Check out our past episodes!
- Ángel Hernández Retires, Ronald Acuña Jr. Out For The Season And Roki Sasaki’s Potential Posting – listen here
- The Likelihood Of A Juan Soto Extension, What’s In Store For Pete Alonso, And Corbin Carroll’s Struggles – listen here
- Paul Skenes, The Prospect Hype Machine, Willson Contreras And Rising Catcher’s Interference Rates – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
