Just when Major League Baseball started relaxing restrictions against Covid-19, the persistent pandemic is showing that it’s still capable of wreaking havoc.
The San Diego Padres are the latest victims, with four regulars sidelined in the last two days. One of them is star shortstop Fernando Tatis, who tested positive Tuesday and was placed on the injured list. He’s joined there by fellow starters Wil Myers, Eric Hosmer, Jurickson Profar, plus utilityman Jorge Mateo.
Myers started the Tuesday night game against the Colorado Rockies in Denver’s Coors Field but was lifted after three innings when the team found out he tested positive, according to Padres pilot Jayce Tingler.
Hosmer landed on the list because of contact tracing issues, as did Profar and Mateo.
According to MLB health and safety protocols, players sent to the injured list after testing positive most spend at least 10 days on the sidelines.
The slew of sudden injuries is likely to slow the offense of the Padres, who are second in the National League West with a 20-16 record, two games behind the surprising San Francisco Giants, but expect a serious challenge from the third-place Los Angeles Dodgers, the defending world champions.
Tatis, San Diego’s brightest star at the tender age of 22, is off to a solid start after signing a 14-year, $340 million contract extension in late February. He has seven home runs and nine stolen bases despite a .240 batting average in 108 plate appearances. The 6'3" Dominican infielder, who broke into the big leagues in 2019, has already been on the list earlier this season after suffering shoulder inflammation last month.
With Hosmer also out, the Padres must do without half their infield. At age 31, the veteran first baseman is leading the team’s position players with a .305 batting average. He has a .370 on-base percentage, .443 slugging average, and .813 OPS (on-base plus slugging), with four home runs and 21 runs batted in over 35 games.
Myers, 30, the nominal backup at first base, has a .255 average, four homers, and 15 RBI. The outfielder has a .757 OPS so far this season.
The versatile Profar has hit .234 with five steals while splitting time between first, second, and the outfield corners, mainly left field. Mateo, who plays less often, is hitting .250. Profar, 28, is in his first year with the Padres after arriving from the Texas Rangers in an off-season swap. Mateo is three years younger.
Tatis and Myers are expected to be out at least until May 22, with Hosmer, Profar, and Mateo all projected to return a week earlier. All must test negative for Covid-19 before being reinstated.
During the virus-shortened 2020 season, which lasted 60 games, and also earlier this year, with the full 162-game schedule restored, teams with multiple positive tests have postponed games.
The Washington Nationals, to cite one example, cancelled their first four games this season.
Although the Padres have called up players to fill roster spots vacated by the incumbents who tested positive, no decision about postponing games involving San Diego has yet been made.
