Sung-Mun Song has been waiting for his opportunity with the San Diego Padres, and now he's getting it.
The San Diego Padres have been waiting for new signee Sung-Mun Song to make his debut with the Padres, and now Song is getting it. The circumstances aren’t ideal, as Jake Cronenworth finally landed on the IL after getting hit in the jaw against the Los Angeles Angels last month, but at least the Padres have a one-for-one replacement ready.
Cronenworth somehow stayed in the game after taking a shot to the jaw from Angels starter Yusei Kikuchi, and he was initially cleared of concussion symptoms back on April 18 when the pitch occurred. But the second baseman experienced headaches and grogginess afterward, and unfortunately he attributed his symptoms to altitude as the Padres traveled to Mexico City to play the Arizona Diamondbacks.
“Looking back, the days that I had and the symptoms that I had, I probably should’ve said something a lot earlier,” Cronenworth said Tuesday in a piece written by AJ Cassavell of MLB.com.
Cronenworth slumped badly after that, and it took the Padres a while to catch up to what was happening, according to manager Craig Stammen.
“We felt like this was the best decision for him,” Stammen said. “I wish we’d have caught it earlier. But just stemming back from when he got hit on the chin, I think it’s one of those concussions that didn’t present itself right away or the symptoms didn’t present themselves right away, and then it’s kind of just not gone away over the course of time.”
That set up an opportunity for Song, who’s been struggling with an oblique injury after the Padres signed him to a four-year, $16 million deal during the offseason. Song aggravated the injury during spring training, and the result was an extended rehab stint at Triple-A El Paso.
So far Song is a success for San Diego, albeit with a minuscule sample size. He had two hits in Tuesday’s 10-5 win over the Giants, then went 0-for-2 in yesterday’s 5-1, although that appearance included a managerial gaffe when Stammen decided to pinch hit for Song with Ty France when Song was already announced and in the batter’s box. France managed to get a walk after being down in the count, 0-1, so the sequence ended up working out.
That doesn’t change what will happen going forward, however. Song will slot into Cronenworth’s spot at second base while serving as a backup at third and short, but Fernando Tatis Jr. could also get more time at second.
“Definitely a part of our plans,” Stammen said of the two players, even though Song’s best position is at third. “We’re not going to stop doing that.”