Padres rookie MacKenzie Gore officially placed on the injured list

The San Diego Padres took rookie MacKenzie Gore out of Monday’s game with a sore elbow. He’s expected to be fully evaluated upon return to San Diego, but in the meantime, he’s been placed on the injured list for 15 days with elbow inflammation.

According to AJ Cassavell at MLB.com, Gore feels alright and the IL stint seems to be more of a precautionary measure.

“He’s not going to throw today, but it’s hopefully encouraging that he doesn’t feel too bad. He just felt the soreness in his elbow. That’s the move you make. We saw him do that, we went out there and got him out of there. He’ll be treated the next couple days. Our doctors will take a look at him when we get home. We’ll see what the steps are after that.” -Bob Melvin, via MLB.com

Gore started the season well and was considered a favorite to win NL Rookie of the Year, but his performance has declined over the past two months. However, according to Melvin, the elbow soreness doesn’t seem to be the reason for the initial decline.

Injury doesn’t seem to be the reason behind Padres rookie MacKenzie Gore’s decline in performance

According to MLB.com, “Melvin noted that Gore hadn’t been experiencing any trouble related to his elbow until Monday night.”

Gore’s decline could be caused by a variety of reasons, but it’s speculated that the main cause is an increase in workload this season.

In May, over 26.2 innings, Gore produced an earned-run average of 1.69, batting average against of .204 and WHIP of 1.01. Over July, he’s produced a much higher ERA of 10.97, BAA of .326 and WHIP of 2.25.