When the San Diego Padres made their moves at the trade deadline, there was hope to turn things around. Fast forward a few weeks, and the Padres find themselves in similar territory.
Things haven’t gone exactly to plan for the Friars, and they are still playing catch-up in the standings race. Adding insult (and injury) to injury, they just placed one of their deadline acquisitions on the injured list.
"Ji-Man Choi initially strained his left rib on a diving play at first base last week. Subsequent swings have hindered his recovery to the point that the Padres will place the 32-year-old veteran on the 10-day injured list on Monday."
However, manager Bob Melvin is hopeful that it won’t be a long stay for infielder Ji-Man Choi. He is currently dealing with a rib strain issue.
“He tried to play through it,” Melvin said of Choi’s injury. “The last couple of days it hasn’t responded very well. It’s gone backwards. So we’ll put him on the IL and hopefully it’s not a long IL.”
Before his injury, Choi had gone 0-for-11 with five walks since being acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates at the trade deadline.
He hasn’t lived up to what the Padres hoped just yet, but maybe taking some time to recover and rest is exactly what he needs. The team needs him healthy for the stretch run of the season.
For the year, Choi is hitting just .179 with six home runs and 11 runs batted in.
While he may not be producing much, the Padres need all the help that they can get as the season winds down. They find themselves stuck in a deep hole that they need to start cutting into.
If the Friars can't turn this season around, it will likely go down as one of the biggest letdowns in baseball history. The clock is ticking on San Diego, and they need to start picking up wins fast.
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