Hosmer placed on 10-day injured list

The Padres placed first baseman Eric Hosmer on the 10-day injured list on Saturday with gastritis, a gastrointestinal illness that has kept him out of the lineup for six of the team's first nine games.

Hosmer traveled with the team to Colorado, but he hasn't been able to play since July 29. The club offered no timetable for his return but noted that the illness is not COVID-related, according to team doctors.

“It’s been hard for him to keep food and liquids down,” Padres manager Jayce Tingler said. “We’ve got to make sure he’s good, everything’s checked out with the doctors, be able to get some nutrients down and get some of that strength back. His health is obviously the No. 1 priority.”

Hosmer was off to a quick start to the 2020 season, having reached base in seven of his 12 plate appearances and driving in seven runs.

"He's been, honestly, our best, most consistent at-bat when he's in there," Tingler said. "He's come up at the right moments, given great at-bats. He's driven guys in. He's been in the mix of a lot of good things."

The Padres did not make a corresponding move on Saturday, saying they would instead do so before Sunday's series finale against the Rockies. That could indicate a callup from outside the team's three-man taxi squad of Luis Torrens, Jerad Eickhoff and Daniel Camarena.

It won’t be a fill-in first baseman, though. The Padres have plenty of those. Ty France, Wil Myers, Josh Naylor and Jake Cronenworth have all already played first in Hosmer’s absence.

“This is why we’ve worked a lot of guys in different positions,” Tingler said. “We’ve tried to create as much versatility as we can, so moving forward, it truly is the next man up.”