The Padres placed Luis Garcia on the 15-day injured list today, as the left-hander is suffering from a left oblique strain. Righty Domingo Tapia was called up from Triple-A to take Garcia’s spot on the active roster. Garcia has a somewhat misleading 4.66 ERA this season, as nine of his 10 earned runs allowed came in two disastrous appearances (totaling two-thirds of an inning) against the Diamondbacks. Against every other team in baseball, Garcia has allowed just one earned run in 18 2/3 frames.
Despite a few shaky moments, the Padres’ bullpen has largely gotten on track, as San Diego’s relievers have combined for the sixth-best (3.31) bullpen ERA in baseball heading into Saturday’s action. Losing a generally reliable veteran like Garcia won’t help matters, and the team has yet to comment on the severity of the left-hander’s oblique strain, or how long Garcia might be sidelined.
More from around the NL West…
- Ryan Feltner suffered a small skull fracture and a concussion after being hit with a Nick Castellanos line drive on May 14, but the Rockies right-hander hasn’t given up hope of returning to the field this season. For now, Feltner is focused only on his recovery, and he gave a positive update to Patrick Saunders and other reporters. Feltner said he has “a headache from the concussion, dizziness, but today there’s no pain. I’m sleeping well, and the day-to-day stuff has become a lot easier. So the feeling is that I’m in a really good spot compared to where I could be.”
- With injuries hampering the Dodgers’ rotation, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said the team could “potentially” target pitching at the trade deadline, but it will still be a while before the Dodgers know a firmer recovery timeline for Julio Urias or Dustin May. “Right now with where we are, it’s gonna be a little more shell game-ish if we have more injuries. But we’re thinking through that and trying to be as prepared as we can be if that happens,” Friedman told Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times and other reporters. May won’t be able to return until at least mid-July due to his placement on the 60-day IL, and Harris writes that May received a PRP injection as part of his treatment for a flexor pronator strain. Beyond the injuries, Noah Syndergaard’s rotation spot might also be a question mark as the righty continues to struggle.
