The San Diego Padres have had a reasonably healthy spring training so far, but the one injury that has messed up the team’s plans is the oblique injury to new infielder Sung-Mun Song. The Padres had ambitious plans for Song to move around the diamond in a super utility role, but now those plans, including experimenting with him as an outfielder, are increasingly in doubt.
The latest on Song, according to AJ Cassavell of MLB.com, is that he still hasn’t swung a bat or taken part in fielding drills. With just two weeks left until the Padres break camp and leave Peoria, that makes it increasingly unlikely that Song will be ready for Opening Day, and it’s fair to ask if he might start the season on the injured list with a longer-term comeback date in mind.
New manager Craig Stammen was initially optimistic about Song’s status, but he’s since shifted gears, and he avoided the Opening Day question about Song.
“That’s just not how we look at it -- we’re going to get him right when he’s right,” Stammen said.
Song wasn’t projected to be a starter, but so that makes the job of replacing him a little easier. The unfortunate part of his was that Song was just starting to hit as he got accustomed to big-league pitching, and according to Cassavell he had an OPS of .806 when before his oblique acted up again.
This injury also shows some of the peril of signing international players from new areas. MLB teams are familiar with Japanese players based on three decades of experience, but Korean baseball is still relatively uncharted territory. Under different circumstances Song would have been working out while being supervised by the Padres, but he sustained the injury while working out on his own in Korea.
Fortunately, the Padres have options. First base seems to be covered well with Nick Castellanos and Miguel Andujar involved in a positional battle with Gavin Sheets, and there will also be DH opportunities for whoever makes the roster in that slot.
The surprising upstart so far is infielder Ty France, who’s hitting well and brings more positional versatility to the table. He won a Gold Glove at first, and France can also play second. Other infield names in this battle include the likes of Mason McCoy and Samad Taylor, but France is the current frontrunner here by a lot so far.