What do you get when a two-time Silver Slugger award winner and a five-time All-Star pitcher suffer injury setbacks in the thick of a Wild Card race with the most active general manager in Major League Baseball in charge? The San Diego Padres are about to find out. The Padres placed right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. on the 10-day injured list with a right femoral stress reaction, and postponed Yu Darvish's anticipated return from the IL, on Monday.
In the near term, the Padres will give Tatis' roster spot to Bryce Johnson and give Darvish's start against the Washington Nationals on Tuesday to right-hander Adam Mazur. In the medium term, both players are expected back at some point this season, if not as soon as originally hoped when they suffered their injuries. Still, the net effect is noteworthy: a fresh set of eyes on the Padres' situation, and the potential next move of general manager A.
J. Preller. Preller's interest in Chicago White Sox pitcher Garrett Crochet even before the injury to Darvish and veteran right-hander Joe Musgrove (right elbow inflammation).
Both pitchers were shelved with injuries in the final week of May. Crochet, 25, is precisely the power left-hander the Padres' rotation lacks. Listed at 6-foot-6 and 230 pounds, he's thrived in unusual fashion in his first year as a starting pitcher in five professional seasons.
He's 6-6 with a 3.25 ERA and 12.59 strikeouts per nine innings for the rebuilding White Sox.
Last year as a reliever, Crochet's fastball ave.
