SAN DIEGO -- The Padres will be without Ha-Seong Kim for at least another nine days, leaving question marks about how they’ll fill their vacancy at shortstop in the midst of a tight postseason race.

Kim landed on the 10-day injured list on Tuesday as he deals with right shoulder inflammation stemming from an awkward dive back into first base on Sunday in Colorado. The move is retroactive to Monday, with utility infielder Matthew Batten recalled from Triple-A El Paso in Kim’s place.

The Padres are hopeful Kim’s stint on the IL won’t last beyond the requisite 10 days. Manager Mike Shildt noted that the team thought it was possible Kim could have returned before then, but it wasn’t worth rushing him back. The decision was made Tuesday to place Kim on the IL.

“Maybe the 10-day would be the better decision, considering the fact that we’re in the postseason and the Wild Card race, and we, as a team, have a goal of reaching the World Series,” Kim said, through interpreter David Lee. “So in order to come back to my fullest 100%, this 10-day IL makes sense to me.”

Tyler Wade has taken over at shortstop in Kim’s place since the injury, and he was in the starting lineup again on Tuesday, batting ninth. Wade has been a valuable bench piece for the Padres, capable of playing just about anywhere and pinch-running in key spots. But he came into Tuesday with just a .563 OPS this season and represents a notable drop-off from Kim, both offensively and defensively.

Which leaves the question of how the Padres might handle Kim’s absence, now that it’ll be prolonged for at least another nine games. Donovan Solano, hitting .304 with a .778 OPS entering Tuesday, is currently on their bench.

Both Xander Bogaerts and Jake Cronenworth have experience playing short. It’s possible the Padres could use Luis Arraez at first with Cronenworth either sliding directly to shortstop or to second while Bogaerts moves to short. That would allow Solano to serve as DH.

Shildt has been purposefully vague when asked about his shortstop options.

“We’ve got Wade playing tonight,” Shildt said. “We’ve got Matt Batten joining the club. And we’ve got other options. We’ll see in the lineup every day.”

Given the nature of the playoff picture, these decisions are important ones. The Padres entered Tuesday trailing the Dodgers by three games in the National League West race and holding a one-game edge over the Diamondbacks for the league’s top Wild Card spot.