Luis Rengifo injury sends Padres back to Samad Taylor in full-circle move

Luis Rengifo injury gives Padres a full-circle replacement in Samad Taylor. The Padres spent Saturday night staring at three imperfect ways to replace Luis Rengifo. By Sunday, they had a much cleaner answer walking off the IL. Samad Taylor is back, and the timing could not be more fitting.

Taylor’s oblique injury opened the roster spot San Diego used to select Rengifo’s contract on July 8. Rengifo grabbed that opportunity, hit .291/.375/.409 with four home runs in 145 plate appearances and played his way into the everyday left-field job. Now Rengifo’s sprained right knee has sent him to the 10-day IL just as Taylor is ready to return. 

Before Taylor got hurt, he slashed .330/.410/.398 with six stolen bases in 26 games. He reached base, created pressure and gave Craig Stammen another player who could move around the field without weakening the lineup. The power was limited, but everything else played.

Samad Taylor becomes Padres’ first left-field answer after Luis Rengifo injury

Austin Hays, Jase Bowen and Dustin Harris were about to become a three-man scramble for Rengifo’s at-bats. Taylor’s activation gives the group a hierarchy. He should receive the first look. Hays can draw selective starts against left-handed pitching. Bowen can run and defend late. Harris can still earn opportunities as the left-handed bat with the most unknown attached to him.

The Padres no longer need all three players to combine into one left fielder.

Gavin Sheets joining Rengifo on the IL is a surprise move that complicates that plan. Sheets’ sprained left foot removes 16 home runs and another left-handed bat from a lineup already searching for dependable depth. Harris may now be needed at DH or as a bat off the bench. Sung-Mun Song, recalled from Triple-A in the corresponding roster shuffle, restores some infield coverage. The pieces have moved, but the roster is hardly whole.

That puts more responsibility on Taylor than his transaction line suggests. He produced well before his injury, but we can’t look at him as a replacement for Rengifo’s kind of profile. Rengifo is a switch-hitter who supplied more extra-base impact during his Padres run. Taylor brings speed, energy and a knack for turning ordinary innings uncomfortable. San Diego can work with that.

The Wild Card race will not wait for him to ease back into the rhythm of major league pitching. The Padres entered Sunday half a game behind Arizona for the National League’s final postseason spot. Taylor’s first healthy week could matter immediately.

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