SAN DIEGO -- Rough week for the Padres. Last Friday, Xander Bogaerts landed on the injured list with a fracture in his left foot. It’s unclear whether he’ll be able to return by the end of the regular season. The start of the playoffs seems like a reasonable goal. Then, on Monday, things went from bad to worse. Righty setup man Jason Adam, one of the most reliable arms in the San Diego bullpen this season, tore the tendon in his left quadriceps while trying to make a play on a comebacker. Adam underwent surgery on Wednesday, which comes with a six to nine month recovery timetable. He will miss the remainder of the season. In the aftermath of the Bogaerts injury, the Padres dropped a series to the Twins. In the aftermath of the Adam injury, they were swept by the Orioles. It’s fair to wonder if any on-field malaise is related to those injuries. The Padres insist it shouldn’t be. “It hurts,” said center fielder Jackson Merrill, who himself returned from a left ankle injury this week. “But every team has injured players. Every team. There's not a single team that's fully healthy. We've just got to keep grinding.” |
Merrill isn’t wrong. Adversity hits every contender. The Padres are dealing with a substantial amount of it right now. But the reality is, their roster is built to withstand these losses. Here’s how: Replacing Adam It went unspoken at the time. San Diego traded for Mason Miller to build a super bullpen with five reliable high-leverage arms. But bullpens are fickle, and pitchers get hurt -- and the Padres’ front office knew that. They made the Miller trade hoping they’d have five high-leverage weapons for the stretch run. They also made that trade knowing it would give them the certainty of having a lights-out bullpen, even if they were hit by an injury. That’s where the Padres find themselves now. There’s no Adam. But they still have Miller, Adrian Morejon, Jeremiah Estrada and closer Robert Suarez. You can make a serious case for that group as the best quartet of relievers in baseball. “Injuries are never ideal, no matter how much depth you have,” said Miller. “But a lot of times you’ll see an injury really expose a lack of depth. I think in this case it’s going to show our depth. … It’s not going to be an easy void to fill, but I think guys are going to step up to that challenge.” |
The reality is, the Padres are likely to feel Adam’s absence more over the next three weeks than they will come October. On Friday, they embark on a stretch where they will play 19 games in 20 days. That will likely stretch the bullpen a bit thin -- perhaps forcing David Morgan and Wandy Peralta into higher leverage roles.
We saw it on Tuesday. With the Padres trailing the Orioles by a run, manager Mike Shildt called for Peralta and Morgan in a spot that might have otherwise belonged to Morejon. But with Adam absent, Shildt opted to hold Morejon in reserve instead.
Then again, with off-days and extra rest in October, the bullpen dynamics will play out differently.
“It’s a strength, and you don’t want to deplete a strength,” Shildt said. “But we can absorb the blow. … In a silo, when everybody’s fresh and ready to go, the bullpen’s still deep. Now it’s just a matter of other guys stepping up and taking some of those spots that get created over the course of a 162-game schedule.”
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Replacing Bogaerts With Merrill back in center, the Padres are going to have a strong (typically left-handed) bat coming off their bench nearly every day. It was Ryan O’Hearn on Tuesday and Gavin Sheets on Wednesday. But with the Padres trailing late in each of the past two games, Shildt has gotten creative in an effort to keep those bats in the lineup after their pinch-hit appearances. Luis Arraez has moved to second, while Jake Cronenworth slides to short (the first time he’s played there since 2022). That leaves first base open for O’Hearn/Sheets. Don’t expect Shildt to use that alignment regularly. It’s a clear downgrade defensively. But when the Padres are looking to mount a rally, it’s at least an option. “You can expect to see that if we’re down and we’re chasing it,” Shildt said. “The one thing I can confidently say is defense is important. I’ve done this long enough to see that when you’re chasing offense, you’re sacrificing defense, and if you’re not on top of your game on the mound as much, you need your defense.” |
As such, Jose Iglesias will continue getting the bulk of the starts in Bogaerts’ absence. But with Mason McCoy available -- and Cronenworth, too, in a pinch -- the downgrade offensively won’t be so glaring. The Padres can (and should) pinch-hit for their shortstop every single night if they need to. Maybe even twice.
As for a radical shakeup that could see Merrill or Fernando Tatis Jr. return to the infield? Not happening. The Padres won’t be acting desperate, given the nature of Bogaerts’ return timeline. They’re still optimistic he’ll be back at shortstop for their biggest games of the season.
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MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
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Aside from Trevor Hoffman, who is the only Padre to record multiple 40-save seasons?
A. Heath Bell
B. Mark Davis
C. Rollie Fingers
D. Goose Gossage
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A. Heath Bell
Bell racked up 40-plus saves in each season from 2009-11.
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