As expected, San Diego reinstated Cronenworth from the 10-day injured list on Friday, ahead of a three-game series in Colorado. Cronenworth had missed five weeks after he was hit by a pitch at Wrigley Field in early April, sustaining a fractured right rib.
The Padres optioned outfielder Oscar Gonzalez in a corresponding move.
Cronenworth’s return gives the Padres a fully healthy offense for the first time since their first road trip. San Diego endured IL stints from Jackson Merrill, Luis Arraez, Jason Heyward and Brandon Lockridge as well. And despite those injuries, the Padres entered the weekend 23-13, owners of the third-best record in baseball.
Still, they’ve clearly missed Cronenworth, who was reaching base at a .409 clip before he landed on the IL. Now that Cronenworth is back, the Padres are no longer scrambling to fill their lineup with role players and bench pieces.
The most interesting question regarding Cronenworth’s return will be the Padres’ offensive plans against left-handed pitching. When they were last fully healthy, Yuli Gurriel was serving in the DH spot. Gurriel has since been cut after his slow start.
Does the lefty-hitting Gavin Sheets assume full-time DH duties, having shown an ability to hit lefties as well as righties early this season? Could Jose Iglesias continue getting starts at second against lefties, bumping Cronenworth to first and Arraez to DH? With Gonzalez out of the mix, does that mean Lockridge is an auto-start in left field against left-handers? Or might Sheets and/or Iglesias play out of position?
The Padres are scheduled to face three Rockies righties over the weekend, so it may be a while before they have to answer these questions. But now that they’re finally healthy on offense, these are questions the Padres will be happy to answer.
