A few days ago, Luis Arraez didn’t want to see a soul. On Tuesday, he was happy to have to wade through a throng of reporters waiting on him at his locker in the home clubhouse.
“Hello everybody,” Arraez said with a big smile. “I’m back.”
The first question to the three-time batting champ was as necessary as the answer was obvious.
How did it feel to be back in the lineup?
“You can see my face already,” Arraez said, still smiling. “Excited. Excited to be here and play baseball. It’s what I love.”
Both Arraez and Jason Heyward were activated from the injured list Tuesday afternoon. Both hit on the field and ran through defensive drills before Sunday’s game, clearing the way for a return to action after the off day.
Left knee inflammation sent Heyward to the 10-day injured list on April 19, retroactive to April 17. Arraez ed him on the shelf the next day in Houston after he was momentarily knocked unconscious after a collision at first base.
Arraez initially stayed back in Houston as the team flew to Detroit and ultimately returned to San Diego while his teammates finished the road trip.
The initial days after sustaining a concussion were difficult, he said.
“A lot of headaches,” Arraez said. “I forgot a couple of things, but now I . I (didn’t) want to talk with anybody. I (didn’t) want to see people around me. But now thank God I want to see people.”
The Padres went 1-5 last week without Arraez. The team is still without outfielders Jackson Merrill and Brandon Lockridge — both of whom continue to rehab their hamstring strains in Arizona — as well as second baseman Jake Cronenworth, who will likely shift to Arizona during the road trip.
But the return of Arraez and Heyward — the primary left fielder against right-handed pitching — was at least a step toward becoming whole again.
The Padres began last week with the best record in baseball, but they entered this week on a four-game skid and losers of seven of their last nine games. A string of defensive miscues and a cold stretch by just about everyone but Fernando Tatis Jr. (the rest of the team was hitting .189 over the previous nine games) had compounded all the bodies piling up on the injured list since Merrill missed his first game on April 7.
“We haven’t played great,” third baseman Manny Machado said. “Obviously we’ve lost. But overall, we’re learning from this stretch. There’s a lot to be learned from. This game is all about making adjustments, about being better every single day. It’s a learning experience. During this tough stretch we learned a lot about ourselves and a lot about this team.”
Said Arraez: “We just need to stay healthy. If everybody’s healthy, everybody knows we have a really good team.”
Corresponding moves
To make room for Arraez and Heyward, the team designated Yuli Gurriel for assignment and placed infielder Mason McCoy on the 10-day injured list with a finger sprain
Neither move was a surprise.
McCoy dislocated his left pinky on Friday night. He had attempted to avoid the injured list and even pinch-ran on Sunday, but the swelling persisted.
Gurriel was hitting .111/.200/.139 in 40 plate appearances and had just one hit in his last 15 plate appearances.
The 40-year-old Cuban signed a minor league deal during spring training and hit .306/.342/.472 with one homer in 16 Cactus League games to force his way onto the opening day roster. He saw most of his action against left-handed starters, either as a DH (eight games) or a first baseman (four games).
Notable
- C Ethan Salas, ranked No. 2 among Padres prospects by MLB.com, has been placed on Double-A San Antonio’s seven-day injured list with back spasms and has returned to Arizona for rehab. The 18-year-old Salas is expected to start a hitting progression this week. Salas hadn’t played since exiting a game for a pinch-runner in the eighth inning of a game on April 17. The organization had described the time off as precautionary before the move to the injured list over the weekend.
