SAN DIEGO -- Jon Jay, the Padres' most consistent offensive performer this season and one of their top trade chips, will likely miss at least a month with a fracture in his right forearm. He was placed on the disabled list Tuesday, and outfielder Alex Dickerson was recalled from Triple-A El Paso in his place.
Jay sustained the injury when he was hit by a pitch in a 6-3 win over the Nationals on June 19. There is no concrete timetable for his return, but manager Andy Green said Jay would be re-evaluated in three weeks and could be looking at a four- to six-week recovery period.
"It's definitely frustrating, especially with the way we've been playing in the month of June," said Jay, who was sporting a camouflage cast on his right forearm. "There's still a lot of baseball left, and to miss some time now -- that's the part that hurts the most."
As a free agent after the season, Jay appeared to be one of the most likely Padres to be dealt before the Aug. 1 Trade Deadline. Given Jay's skill set as a center fielder and leadoff man who can hit both lefties and righties, he figured to be one of the most sought-after outfielders on the market. Now it's questionable whether he'll be healthy before the Deadline.
In 68 games this season, Jay was batting .296/.345/.407, while leading the National League with 24 doubles. The Padres acquired Jay during the offseason in exchange for infielder Jedd Gyorko and cash.
"Obviously the initial X-ray came back negative, but that happens a lot," Jay said. "The thing that concerned me was just the way the ball came off my hand. Obviously, it swelled up pretty well. I just had a feeling that something was going on, [with] the way this didn't respond."
The initial diagnosis on Jay's injured forearm was a contusion. The Padres were hopeful Jay could return to full health with a few days of rest, but when the condition did not improve, Jay was sent for a CT scan Monday, which confirmed a "slight break," according to Green.
"He's still going to be casted up for I think three weeks," Green said. "When they take it off, re-evaluate, and give it another scan and determine if he needs to be back in a cast a little bit longer. We're hoping four- to six-week range is what it is."
Center fielder Travis Jankowski has started in Jay's place in every game since the injury -- and he's assumed Jay's role in the leadoff spot as well, batting .292 with five walks in those six starts.
Tuesday, however, Dickerson got the start in left field against the Orioles, with Melvin Upton Jr. starting in center. Dickerson has raked all season with El Paso, hitting .382/.425/.622 with 10 homers. During a brief callup to the big league club in May, he went 2-for-10, with a grand slam at Wrigley Field, his first career homer.
"You'll see them both out there fairly consistently," Green said of his two outfield options for replacing Jay. "I think we kind of owe it to ourselves to find out what Alex Dickerson has, too. … I'm very pleased with what Travis did in the last week -- top of the lineup, scored runs, stole bases, played great defense in center field. Expect him to be out there somewhat consistently as well. [We'll] probably see those guys play, with the way they play kind of dictating who gets the larger portion of it."