The San Diego Padres have lost Cory Spangenberg for at least two weeks as the infielder was placed on the D.L. on Tuesday morning. Jedd Gyorko was recalled to take his place on the 25-man roster.
The horrible take out slide that took Cory Spangenberg out of the game on Saturday night has resulted in a D.L. stint for the young infielder. Nick Ahmed took out Spangenberg on a very dirty slide and to be quite frank, I’m surprised the Padres did nothing about it. The slide was right into Spangenberg, no contact was made with the ground. In my opinion the team cannot continue to be pushed around and do nothing about it.
Losing Spangenberg is big for the team. He had been utilizing his speed and making things happen offensively for the Padres. With a knee injury, it is uncertain when he will be able to return to the team. Padres fans can only hope the deep knee bruise is not too bad and he will only miss the minimum amount of time.
Jedd Gyorko had been playing well in AAA. He had gone 17-61 (.279) with one double, four home runs and nine RBI’s for the Chihuahuas. The 16 game stay in AAA surely had to be tough for Gyorko. He made the most out of his time there and Padres fans can only hope he is on the verge of producing for the team.
In my opinion fans need to be aware of who Jedd Gyorko is. He will never be a .300 hitter with a high on base percentage. He goes up there and takes a hack at a pitch. He is a power hitting second baseman, that’s what his forte will be in the Major Leagues. That in itself can be valuable in a team if you have the correct players around him.
Mandatory Credit: AP Photo
Gyorko should probably be a #6 or #7 hitter in the lineup. The Padres have a team full of right hand hitting power hitters. Will Middlebrooks, Matt Kemp, Justin Upton, and Wil Myers along with Jedd Gyorko are essentially the same type of hitters. They all will strike out too much. You cannot have a team full of the same type of hitters. They will all be eaten up by the same type of pitching. In the Padres case it’s right handed pitchers that change speeds. With this predominantly right handed lineup the inconsistencies will surely continue for the Padres.
If the Padres are looking for Jedd Gyorko to be a different type of hitter then they are setting themselves up for failure. The $30 million dollars owed to Gyorko for the next four and a half years is a lot. If the team hopes to move him, he needs to play everyday. He needs to display the power that earned him the contract extension from former G.M. Jedd Hoyer.
Losing Spangenberg hurts the Padres and we will see if A.J. Preller makes a move to gain another left-handed hitting infielder. The Padres are on that proverbial fence. The team could go either way when it comes to buying or selling at the July 31st trade deadline. The next two weeks will be critical for determining the future for this team.
James was born and raised in America’s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that’s our motto. Enjoy.
