Naylor, Wingenter to Triple-A as pitchers arrive
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CHICAGO -- The Padres made the promotions of left-hander Adrian Morejon and right-hander Michel Baez official Sunday before their series finale vs. the Cubs.
In order for Morejon and Baez to be added to the 40-man roster, the team moved right-hander Adam Warren to the 60-day injured and recalled right-hander Miguel Diaz from Triple-A El Paso and transferred him to the 60-day IL (left knee surgery).
Team also optioned right-hander Trey Wingenter and outfielder Josh Naylor to El Paso to make room on the 25-man roster.
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Naylor’s absence will force the Padres to adjust as they are back to having an all-right-handed outfield and one less left-handed bat off the bench. Naylor showed promise as a pinch-hitter, carrying an .827 OPS is the role.
“Josh has done some really good things for us since he’s been here,” Padres manager Andy Green said. “Overall, [his] outfield play has been a bit better than we anticipated. We brought him up here initially to be here for a week or so. Fill a need for us in the short term. We’ve been looking for that complementary left-handed bat in the outfield. We’ll see a lot of Josh in time.”
Wingenter was 1-3 with a 4.26 ERA in 38 games for San Diego but had some struggles in his most recent outings, with a 6.32 over his last 15 appearances.
Green expects defensive issues to subside
The Padres have had their share of defensive miscues since the All-Star break. With a few more errors during the team’s visit to Chicago, the issue has become more of a concern.
While star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. has been phenomenal for the Padres throughout his first season, he also has had a few struggles with six errors since the break.
“You basically look at every mistake that has been made,” Green said, “and you feel like, ‘Is it a focus mistake, effort mistake or a mistake of aggression?’ For the most part, what we’ve seen are young guys who aren’t afraid to make mistakes of aggression.
“We’ve seen that in Tatis; we’ve seen it with [Francisco] Mejia. You don’t like them. No one is accepting them. Nobody is making an excuse for them, but you want your guys playing aggressively.”