Grisham comes off IL, aims to boost offense

The Padres have activated outfielder Trent Grisham (left heel bruise) from the 10-day injured list and optioned outfielder Brian O’Grady to Triple-A El Paso, the team announced Saturday.

“We feel he’s in a really good spot,” said manager Jayce Tingler.

Grisham, who hasn’t played with the Padres since May 21, looked good in his brief rehab stint with El Paso. In two games, Grisham hit a double, drew two walks and stole a base.

The hope is that Grisham provides a much-needed spark upon returning to the big league club. Entering Saturday, the Padres have lost nine of their last 12 games, hitting .196/.271/.310 during that stretch as a team.

“It’s just baseball,” said infielder Jake Cronenworth. “Teams are going to be really good at points, and they’re not going to be good at others. I think that’s honestly just what it is.”

No one has been immune from the struggles in recent weeks. Since May 30, Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, Eric Hosmer and Wil Myers have all hit below their season averages. The team’s only real bright spot on offense has been Ha-Seong Kim, who has hit .333 with a home run in his last nine games.

It's not surprising, then, that San Diego has scored two or fewer runs in eight of its last 11 contests, an uncharacteristic dry spell for an offense filled with All-Star-caliber players.

The team’s offensive struggles on June 5 and again on Friday can somewhat be excused by virtue of the Padres having to face Jacob deGrom.

The two-time National League Cy Young Award winner has kept the Padres scoreless across 13 innings with 21 strikeouts to one walk in his two outings against San Diego. On Friday, deGrom had a perfect game going into the fifth inning before Myers slapped a single into right field. In case the pitching wasn’t enough, deGrom had a two-run single off Blake Snell in the series opener as well.

“I would say it’s definitely not easy [facing deGrom],” Cronenworth said with a laugh. “I mean, he’s the best in the game for a reason.”

Grisham couldn't help the Padres against deGrom, but with his return, he's more than capable of helping jump-start the offense.

In 36 games this season, Grisham is slashing .301/.383/.515 with six home runs and seven steals, all while proving Gold Glove Award-caliber defense. Despite missing so much time due to injury -- Grisham also missed the first eight games of the season due to a hamstring injury -- he has the second-highest fWAR among Padres position players (1.7).

"I think maybe we’ve had guys recognize that we’re scuffling a little bit and try to do too much individually,” Tingler said. “That’s a good place to be at, it’s good intentions, but the reality is we need all our guys kind of clicking and having good at-bats to get it moving.”

With Grisham back, Jurickson Profar will return to a utility role. Profar and Jorge Mateo held down center field in Grisham’s absence, but neither provided that much production. Since Grisham hit the injured list, Profar and Mateo have combined to hit .158 with just three extra-base hits.