Padres feeling better after Ha-Seong Kim's shoulder injury, but no timetable for return – San Diego Union-Tribune

The Padres were encouraged by the first pictures of Ha-Seong Kim's right shoulder, but did not want to say much beyond that.

“It looks favorable initially,” manager Mike Shildt said Monday afternoon. “But I say that with caution. … It seems favorable for the most part. But there's no timeline on that, other than it could still be a lot worse and I'm pretty happy with how it looks initially. But I'm still gathering information.”

Kim left Sunday's game in Colorado after diving back to first base on a pickoff attempt. He immediately got up, held his shoulder and left the field without waiting for athletic trainers to arrive. The team referred to the injury as a “jammed” shoulder.

Shildt said it was a potentially positive sign that Kim was not immediately placed on the injured list.

“It doesn't look like there's anything imminent that's going to be, you know, long-term,” Shildt said. “Beyond that, it's unclear to all of us.”

Tyler Wade started in Kim's place against the Twins on Monday night.

Shildt acknowledged that if Kim were to be out for an extended period of time, the team would likely opt for a more permanent solution at the shortstop position by using one of the many players who are natural shortstops.

“We have several guys who can play there,” Shildt said.

Other than Wade, no player hit a grounder as shortstop before Monday's game.

The most likely option if the team were to make a semi-permanent move would be Jake Cronenworth, as the Padres appear reluctant to move Xander Bogaerts back to the position he played for 11 years in the major leagues after all the work that went into moving him to second base.

Cronenworth, who has been primarily the Padres' first baseman for the past two seasons, played mostly shortstop in the minor leagues and has started 45 games in the major leagues, most of which (36) came in 2021.

Kim arrived at Petco Park about three hours before Monday's game after undergoing an MRI scan, and he reportedly felt more confident after the scan.

Originally published: August 19, 2024 at 16:56