Bogaerts to miss significant time with shoulder fracture

CINCINNATI -- The Padres are expecting to be without star infielder Xander Bogaerts for a significant stretch with Wednesday's news that the four-time All-Star has a fractured bone in his left shoulder.

The Padres ran several tests on Bogaerts’ shoulder, including a pending CT scan that manager Mike Shildt said should create more clarity in terms of how long the infielder will be sidelined.

“[The news is] not as good as we would have hoped, especially after the initial imaging,” Shildt said prior to his club's 7-3 win over the Reds. “I’m not a timetable guy. He’ll be on the IL and will be on the sidelines for a period of time. It’s impossible to say how long; we’re still gathering information.”

Bogaerts was injured during the first game of Monday's doubleheader in Atlanta when he dove to stop a Ronald Acuña Jr. grounder to his left side and awkwardly rolled on his left arm.

"I remember as soon as I caught the ball, I heard four cracks," Bogaerts said. "I knew at that point something was wrong. I didn’t know exactly, something shifted. I just felt cracks. In the end that’s what it was, a crack."

The 31-year-old five-time Silver Slugger was hitting .219 with four homers and 14 RBIs at the time of his injury.

Shildt will have options as he navigates through the next several weeks, or longer, without his star infielder. Pitching matchups will likely factor into some of the decision-making process.

Left-handed-hitting Tyler Wade started at shortstop in Wednesday’s game against Reds right-hander Nick Martinez and is an option at second. Other options include Luis Arraez, also a lefty, and Donovan Solano, who bats right-handed.

Shildt declined to speculate who might get the majority of playing time in Bogaerts’ absence.

“We’re still in the process of figuring that out,” he said. “There are some things that we are thinking about that will come into play the next couple of days that we’ll explore. We have a lot of options between three or four different guys.

“We’ll be somewhat creative with that, relative to what we’re seeing, and the pitching. But we’ll also create some stability that we think people will like.”

In addition to placing Bogaerts on the IL, the Padres selected the contract of outfielder David Peralta and transferred righty Luis Patiño to the 60-day IL.

Peralta, a 36-year-old veteran of 10 Major League seasons, underwent flexor tendon surgery last October. He spent Spring Training with the Cubs and was released by the organization on May 10. He signed a Minor League contract with the Padres on May 18 and was originally assigned to Triple-A El Paso.

Peralta started in left field on Wednesday in Cincinnati.

“I’m excited to be here, for the opportunity,” he said. “When they called me to the office last night, I felt like it was my first time getting called to the big leagues. When I had the surgery last year in the offseason, I knew this year was going to be tough for me, trying to find a way back to the big leagues.

“I really appreciate it and I’m thankful San Diego said, ‘We need your help here.’ I’m here to help the team win.”