San Diego Padres move five off disabled list - MLB News
San Diego Padres moved relief pitcher Josh Spence and designated outfielder Blake Tekotte on assignment, bringing back five players from the 60-day disabled list.
The current Padres’ roster stands at 40 and more changes are expected to be made. Earlier, the team had our-righted pitcher Dustin Moseley and Tim Stauffer, who are now free agents.
Those making a return to the roster include catcher Nick Hundley, infielders-outfielders James Darnell, Kyle Blanks and starting pitchers Cory Luebke and Joe Wieland. All five had season ending surgeries during 2012 season.
Hundley, who had a knee surgery is expected to be fully fit by Spring Training and will be joining the team. He went through arthroscopic surgery in late August. Playing 58 regular season games, he only hit at .157 with three home-runs and 22 RBI’s. He was
part of Triple-A for over a month and on his return to Padres, was put on the disabled list.
Similar timetable is expected for James Darnell and Kyle Blanks. Both had surgeries on their non-throwing left shoulders. Blanks was put on 15-day disabled list in the middle of April after playing just four games. The shoulder had been troublesome during
Spring Training as well and surgery on April 24 ended the 26-year-old’s season.
Darnell was promoted from Triple-A Tucson in May to play for the Padres. The player showed some good early signs in the seven games that he played, going 4-for-17 and hitting a home-run as well. The 25-year-old temporarily dislocated his left shoulder while
diving for a ball. He was put on the disabled list and later needed shoulder surgery which took place in late August.
The two pitchers will have a long road ahead for recovery. Luebke is expected to be joining the team late in Spring where as Wieland will have to wait longer. The right-handed pitcher is expected to miss most of the 2013 season. Both players had Tommy John
elbow reconstruction surgeries.
Luebke had signed an extension contract through to 2015 last Spring. The contract guarantees him $11 million. The 27-year-old’s elbow reconstruction surgery took place in May.
Wieland made his debut in the 2012 season and was an opening pitcher in five games. He went 0-for-4 and had an ERA of 4.55. The 22-year-old has surgery in July.
Tekotte had limited chances in the Major League so far, having managed to play 30 games for the Padres in the last two seasons. The 25-year-old has had an unimpressive .163 batting average. The left hander was drafted by the Padres in 2008’s third round.
Spence went 0-for-3 in his 51 relief appearances. He has a 3.15 ERA and struck-out 41 batters while walking 24. The 24-year-old was a third round pick by the Padres in the 2010 draft.
The Padres will be looking forward to making some more changes to their 40 man roster in an attempt to have the best lot of players available for the next season. They will have to put extra emphasis on the fitness of their players to make sure that they
do not suffer in the upcoming season due to injuries to the players.
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