The San Diego Padres just got hit hard, right when they absolutely couldn’t afford it. Utilityman Luis Rengifo was carted off the field Saturday night after suffering a brutal non-contact knee injury during their 7-6 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, and now he’s officially on the injured list with a right knee sprain. This is a gut punch for a team locked in a fierce fight for a wild-card playoff spot.
What a nightmare scenario. Rengifo went down in the seventh inning on what looked like an innocent play. He took a relay throw at second, then darted towards third to try and catch Taylor Walls in a rundown. As he stopped abruptly to turn and fire a throw home, his right knee just buckled. No contact, just a plant and he was down, falling to the dirt. He stayed there for five agonizing minutes, eventually needing a cart to get off the field. You don’t see that often in baseball, and manager Craig Stammen didn’t sugarcoat it, saying it “doesn’t look good” and calling out the “non-contact injury.” Rengifo is heading back to San Diego for evaluation, which tells you everything.
Losing Rengifo stings so bad because the guy has been on fire since joining the Padres in late June after the Brewers released him. He’s been one of their best hitters, slashing a sweet .291/.375/.409. We’re talking 4 homers, 3 doubles, 17 RBI, and 3 stolen bases in just 145 plate appearances while playing left field, second base, and third base. That kind of versatility and production is impossible to replace, and shortstop Xander Bogaerts nailed it when he said, “He’s been huge. To be where we are right now, he has a lot to do with that for sure.” To make matters worse, fellow utilityman Gavin Sheets also hit the IL with a left foot sprain, sustained while running the bases Saturday. Sheets has 16 homers, 15 doubles, and 46 RBI this season, so that’s another big bat out of the lineup. To fill the gaps, the Padres activated outfielder Samad Taylor and recalled infielder Sung-Mun Song from Triple-A.
Right now, the Padres are sitting at 72-64, in a virtual tie with the Arizona Diamondbacks for the National League’s third wild-card playoff spot. The Miami Marlins are only four games back, and the St. Louis Cardinals are 4.5 games behind with just 26 games left in the regular season. This is exactly the kind of moment where you need all hands on deck, and instead, the Padres just took two serious blows to their lineup. The wild card fight just got a whole lot tougher for San Diego.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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