San Diego Padres: Injuries Mounting, But Club Still Intact

Three injuries to essential San Diego Padres position players have set the club’s preparation for Opening Day back a bit. Thankfully, nothing is too serious, and others are ready to step up if needed.

The injury report thus far is not too pretty for the San Diego Padres. The club hasn’t experienced all that many ailments this spring, but the three players sidelined by injury are some of the most critical on the roster.

Infielder Ryan Schimpf and outfielders Alex Dickerson and Manuel Margot are each listed as questionable for return on Opening Day. In the span of just a week, the three young position players were hurt in spring training action.

Margot, a 22-year-old rookie is currently suffering from swelling in his left knee, an injury which occurred during a spring game against the Indians. A report late last week suggests that the rookie will begin baseball activity sometime this week, making an Opening Day return highly likely.

The other injured outfielder, Dickerson, is now questionable for Opening Day after his latest set back. His back injury resurfaced in his spring debut last Saturday against the Brewers. Competing for the starting left field job with Travis Jankowski and possible Jabari Blash, Dickerson is in a tough position now to start Opening Day. However, the coaching staff is still optimistic he will return at some point and contribute this season.

Schimpf’s injury is certainly the most minor, as he has already returned to baseball activity. But with ribs, there is always concern, and the Padres should keep a close eye on their 28-year-old’s oblique.

In the midst of all of this, there is a substantial amount of good news. Certainly, the most promising of this news is that each are recovering in a timely manner and shouldn’t miss much, if any, of regular season play.

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But what fans should really be focusing on is just how well the players behind these three are performing, showing that they can indeed step in if needed. In the outfield, both Jabari Blash and Travis Jankowski have proven this spring to be formidable alternatives to the current starters. Jankowski can play either center or left, and Blash can play left. At second base, replacing Schimpf wouldn’t be that big of an issue. Cory Spangenberg is putting Schimpf’s starting job in jeopardy anyways, and Carlos Asuaje is another option.

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The bottom line is, the Padres are still intact. They picked one of their strongest areas to suffer injuries in, the outfield. Margot, Schimpf, and Dickerson may have had their preparation time for 2017 set back, but it doesn’t appear likely barring any additional set backs that they will miss any regular season action. And even if they do, other players have stepped up in camp and proven that coaches can have confidence playing them if needed.