Padres add Luis Torrens and Ty France to active roster as Tommy Pham, Francisco Mejia hit IL

The San Diego Padres can’t seem to catch a break.

After failing to win a single game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, it was discovered that outfielder Tommy Pham had suffered a broken hamate bone in his left hand.

Catcher Francisco Mejia will be joining him on the injured list, as a left thumb contusion will be sidelining him for the foreseeable future.

Prior to tonight’s game, the #Padres placed OF Tommy Pham (fractured left hamate bone) and C Francisco Mejia (left thumb contusion) on the 10-day IL and recalled INF Ty France and C Luis Torrens.

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 17, 2020

In their place, catcher Luis Torrens and infielder Ty France will be recalled from the team’s training facility at USD.

Pham had suffered the injury during the Padres loss to the Diamondbacks on Aug. 16 in his final at-bat. Before the injury, Pham posted a batting line of .207/.316/.293 with two home runs. Despite this, he was still making solid contact at the plate, evidenced by a Hard Hit % of 86 percent of batted balls.

Mejia, who was sharing time with Austin Hedges behind the plate, immensely struggled at the plate, and the thumb injury may explain some of those struggles. In 38 total at-bats, Mejia collected a batting line of .079/146/.186.

The tandem of Hedges-Mejia was a weak link in the Padres lineup as both catchers produced little at the plate. The hope amongst the Padres is that Torrens can provide a spark at the plate while Hedges can focus on defense.

This will be France’s second appearance on the active roster. Previously demoted on Aug. 13, the SDSU alum hit .250/.308/.417 with a home run while seeing time at both first base and designated hitter.

France, who can also play second, will most likely spell Jake Cronenworth while Jurickson Profar will slide to left field due to Pham’s injury. There is also a minimal chance France will appear at catcher after spending time in Spring Training learning the position.

However, those honors will go to Torrens, who has spent the entire season on the taxi squad. With Mejia down with an injury and Luis Campusano getting closer to The Show, the time is now for Torrens to prove he has what it takes to supplement either Hedges or Mejia.

Surprisingly, San Diego chose not to recall an outfielder from their alternate training site. While there are options on the free-agent market to fill the void, it appears that both Josh Naylor and Edward Olivares will be getting an ample opportunity to assert themselves in the lineup.

Jason Freund

I am currently attending San Diego State University while working on achieving a major in journalism. At SDSU, I write for The Daily Aztec while also hosting the sports radio show “Picked Off”, for KCR Radio. A loyal fan of San Diego sports, I hope to bring content that you will enjoy reading.