Will Wagner may have given Padres the excuse they need with Miguel Andujar

The boring answer about Miguel Andujar might actually be the right one. He tweaked his left hamstring Sunday against the Mets and hasn’t started since. He has appeared twice as a pinch-hitter, which tells us the Padres do not view this as catastrophic. And it also tells us he’s not fully right. On Tuesday, he was intentionally walked and immediately lifted. On Wednesday, he grounded out to third base in the eighth inning. 

If Andujar is healthy enough to swing but not healthy enough to actually move around like a normal baseball player, what’s the plan here?

The Padres have already been living in roster limbo. Their offense has been thin and their bench continues to be shuffled. Andujar has helped this team, and it wouldn't be fair to ignore his impact. But carefully managing a hamstring issue for a bench player may be mildly questionable. And that’s mainly because Will Wagner could me making his case to hang around on the major league roster. 

Will Wagner’s quick Padres spark could change the Miguel Andujar conversation

Wagner has only been up because Xander Bogaerts is on paternity leave, so he’s only appeared in two games, and Bogaerts is expected to return to the lineup on June 12.

But Wagner has been pretty loud for his two games. He’s gone 3-for-4 with two walks. More importantly, he has looked like exactly the kind of hitter San Diego has been missing too often.

Craig Stammen did not exactly downplay it, either.

“(He) reminds me of Jake Cronenworth,” Stammen said. “Those at-bats that we missed from Jake, you know, just the professional, consistent at-bat. He looks very similar in the box, and I think when we traded for him last year, we felt like that’s the type of at-bat we were going to get, is somebody who could control the zone and handle some right-handed pitching for us. So he’s definitely, in two days, has impressed us greatly. Not that we didn’t know this before, he just didn’t have as much of an opportunity, but he’s going to get some more opportunities going forward.”

That last part is what’s most interesting here. So, where are those opportunities coming from?

Bogaerts is expected back. Jake Cronenworth has started ramping up baseball activity. The Padres are already trying to sort through a roster that has too many moving pieces and not enough certainty. If Wagner has earned a longer look, then San Diego needs a way to keep him around without creating another squeeze somewhere else.

Andujar’s hamstring might be the cleanest answer. If Andujar is not actually ready to run, defend, take regular at-bats and be used like a real active player, then putting him on the injured list isn’t punishment. It’s literally common sense.

The Padres are creeping toward the trade deadline, and they still don’t have enough answers. We already know the offense needs outside help. But before the Padres decide what they need to buy, they should probably figure out what they already have.

Wagner gives them a chance to do that. Give him an actual look. Let him show whether that controlled approach can hold up after teams get a better read on him.

Another option for the Padres is keeping both Andujar and Wagner active while sending Jase Bowen back down. That might be the cleanest move if San Diego wants to avoid an IL stint. Samad Taylor has provided enough spark to justify his roster spot, Bowen is slashing just .176/.222/.176 with seven strikeouts in 18 at-bats, and Sung-Mun Song is needed as a backup infielder. Perhaps that’s where the Padres land.

And if Andujar is truly ready, fine. Play him. But if he is still day-to-day, still limited and still being protected from anything beyond a single at-bat, the Padres should take the hint.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow