Padres: Another setback for promising outfielder Franchy Cordero

The story for San Diego Padres’ outfielder Franchy Cordero continues to be a sad one as he had yet another setback.

We all know injuries are part of the game, but what San Diego Padres outfielder Franchy Cordero has been going through just isn’t fair.

In a report from AJ Cassavell of MLB.com, he noted that Cordero “tweaked a glute muscle while rehabbing in Arizona.”

Cordero really broke out as a prospect in 2016 when he played in 137 games and moved three levels from High-A to Triple-A hitting a combined .290 with 11 home runs and a .344 OBP.

He backed that up by hitting .326 in Triple-A in 2017 with 17 home runs before making his Major League debut with the Padres.

Cordero only hit .228 in his first 30 big league games, but did have 3 home runs in 92 at-bats.

In 2018 his average was still low at .237 in 154 at-bats, but the power potential showed with 7 home runs.

However, that’s when the injuries started to pop up. He only played in 47 games in 2018 between minors and majors.

He was able to play in the Dominican League last offseason to help get his timing back and began the 2019 season on the Padres roster.

And he looked great through 15 at-bats with 5 hits and 4 walks to start the season.

But then he suffered an elbow injury that kept him out until June. And then while rehabbing he suffered a quad injury that kept him out until August and then he was never able to get fully healed to return to the big leagues.

The hope was that he could take some time off to get healthy and pick up some at-bats in the Dominican League this winter. But now it’s unclear if that is even going to happen.

If healthy, Cordero could give the Padres exactly what they need in a left-handed outfielder who can play center field.

He’s shown some promise as a guy who can hit 20-plus home runs in the big leagues and possibly steal 20 bases.

You just really hate to see him continue to get injured. We wish all the best for Cordero and hope that he’s able to get healthy and stay healthy going into 2020.