Padres bring Jake Cronenworth back and immediately gamble on a rebound

The Padres have brought Jake Cronenworth back after a surprisingly short rehab stint. He was part of a couple roster moves on June 29. They also recalled right-hander Bradgley Rodriguez, placed David Morgan on the 15-day injured list with left knee inflammation, and optioned Will Wagner to Triple-A El Paso.

Cronenworth’s return should help this roster in theory. He gives the Padres another left-handed bat, he’s a trusted defender and veteran presence. All of that is important too. But we can’t lose sight of the fact that he wasn’t exactly rolling before he got hurt. 

Before landing on the injured list, Cronenworth was hitting .144/.272/.196 with one home run, four RBI, 14 hits in 97 at-bats, a 34 OPS+, and -0.3 WAR.

Jake Cronenworth’s Padres return comes with immediate pressure

Cronenworth did show signs of life during his rehab assignment. He went 3-for-12 with a home run and two RBI, and that first rehab homer was what the Padres wanted to see. Still, a rehab homer does not erase two months of ugly production.

So while the Padres activated a good player, they also activated a question.

Can Cronenworth still be more than a familiar name? Because the Padres cannot afford to carry any more dead spots this season. And if Cronenworth comes back and immediately looks like the same hitter from before the injury, this could get out of hand pretty fast. 

The move also removes any runway they were giving Will Wagner. He wasn’t exactly forcing his way to an everyday player. But he was giving solid at-bats. He slashed .257/.422/.286 with a 104 OPS+ in 35 at-bats. There wasn’t a ton of impact, with no home runs and no RBI, but he was getting on base.

The Padres still chose Cronenworth, blocking Wagner at the keystone anyway. Perhaps the Padres felt it was better for Wagner to get regular hacks in Triple-A while Cronenworth splits reps with Tatis Jr. at second base.

That tells us the organization is leaning on track record, role, and upside. They are betting that Cronenworth’s established major-league résumé means more than Wagner’s short sample. That’s not crazy. It’s probably the move most teams would make. But it’s definitely not risk-free.

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