El Paso Loaded with Rehabbing Padres

Mar 30, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres first baseman Yonder Alonso (23) grounds into an inning ending double play in the first inning on the opening day baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

The Padres’ Opening Day infield started like this: Yonder Alonso, Jedd Gyorko, Everth Cabrera and Chase Headley. Now the first 3 are rehabbing with the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas.

Jedd Gyorko finally played a full game again, going 1-for-4 on Saturday, with a run scored for El Paso. He hadn’t played since June 4th. He is hitting .162 with 5 HRs and 24 RBI in 2014.

Everth Cabrera has not yet played a rehab game, but he is scheduled to be with the team sometime Monday and start a rehab assignment when the Chihuahuas start their series with the Sacramento River Cats. He has been on the DL since July 1st with a strained hamstring. He has been running with the Padres the past few games and his return could be sooner than most. In 80 games, he is hitting .218 with 3 HRs and 13 stolen bases.

Yonder Alonso has been out for about a month with a wrist injury. He completed a brief assignment with the Rookie Padres in Arizona and will be traveling to El Paso as well. In 2 games in Arizona, he had 3 hits, including a home run and 3 RBI. Alonso was starting to heat up before he went down, he had 3 hits in his last 3 games with the Padres and has 5 HRs for the season.

These three key cogs for the Padres should be back in a Padres’ uniform before too long. No definitive dates have been set yet, however. In the absence of these infielders, the Padres have been able to get good looks at younger players such as Jace Peterson, Chris Nelson, Jake Goebbert and Tommy Medica.