Padres infielder could miss time despite negative X-rays

X-rays were negative on Ha-Seong Kim’s left knee, San Diego Padres manager Bob Melvin told reporters (including Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune) after Kim had to be helped off the field during Thursday's game.  In the second inning of the Padres’ 8-6 win over the Nationals, Kim fouled a pitch off his knee, knocking him to the ground in obvious pain.  Despite the relatively good news from the imaging, Kim is not expected to play on Friday and might end up on the 10-day injured list unless the swelling and discomfort subsides quickly.

Now in his third season with the Padres, Kim is hitting a modest .237/.316/.382 over 172 plate appearances, which works out to a 97 wRC+.  Even this slightly below-average number might be generous considering that Kim’s 22.3 percent hard-hit ball rate is among the lowest in the league. He has provided a lot of defensive value to San Diego, though, as a second baseman and more recently, as a third baseman in place of the injured Manny Machado.  The Padres’ depth would take another hit if both Machado and Kim remain out and Rougned Odor (whose bat has been on fire as of late) would be the likeliest candidate for regular time at third base should that be the case.  Odor and Brandon Dixon could split time between second and third, Jake Cronenworth could also play second base, while Matt Carpenter could see more time as a first baseman.

More from around the NL West…

• Colorado Rockies outfielder Brenton Doyle left today’s game on a cart after colliding with the outfield wall in pursuit of a Jorge Soler home run.  Doyle told MLB.com’s Thomas Harding and other reporters that his right knee “probably took the most impact, and it was pretty excruciating pain at the time" before adding “I feel like I could have walked off.”  Doyle will undergo tests to determine the nature and extent of his injury, but Harding reports that the Rockies are already likely to call Nolan Jones up from Triple-A as at least a precautionary replacement.  Making his MLB debut this season, Doyle has hit .240/.288/.467 over 80 PA in Colorado, but has also gone 7-for-7 in stolen base attempts and displayed some impressive glovework in center field.
• In another injury concern for the Rockies, Harding tweets that Luis Cessa was removed for precautionary reasons from his Triple-A start after taking a line drive off his right leg.  Cessa was able to face two more batters before leaving the field under his own power.  Colorado has already had to deal with several pitching injuries this season, part of the reason why Cessa was just signed to a minor league contract earlier this week – to provide some additional depth.
• The Arizona Diamondbacks optioned outfielder Dominic Fletcher to Triple-A Reno Thursday and Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports that the Snakes will be calling Jake McCarthy back up to the majors.  It was exactly a month ago that the D-Backs optioned McCarthy to Triple-A after his very slow start to the season, but McCarthy has started to find himself in the minors, hitting .333/.419/.533 over 105 PA (albeit in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League).  With both McCarthy and Alek Thomas sent to the minors, Fletcher was one of the players the D-Backs called upon to pick up the slack in the outfield and Fletcher delivered a very solid .308/.349/.474 in his first 85 career PA in the big leagues.  It stands to reason that Fletcher will be back with the Diamondbacks sooner or later, unless McCarthy really gets on track at the plate.