Veteran Infielder Activated as Ji-Man Choi Heads to IL

The San Diego Padres received some bad news Monday as infielder Ji-Man Choi was put on the injured list with a left rib strain after playing only seven games with the Padres.

Choi was sent to San Diego by the Pittsburgh Pirates as a part of a deal involving pitcher Rich Hill. The Padres gave up pitcher Jackson Wolf, outfielder Estuar Suero and first baseman Alfonso Rivas for the two veterans.

Choi has gone hitless so far in San Diego, walking five times. 

In his replacement, Ben Gamel has been activated but, because he was not on the 40-man roster, the Padres will make another move today.

Gamel's last MLB action came in 2022, ironically for the Pirates. He played 115 games and hit 9 home runs while holding a .232 batting average.

With Rich Hill giving up 9 earned runs in just 6.1 innings between his two starts with the Padres, it is hard to view the trade as a win from their perspective.

It is unclear how long Choi, who missed starts on Saturday and Sunday, will be on the injured list.

The Padres are facing an intimidating deficit in the NL Wild Card race. After dropping two games to the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Padres sit 5.5 games behind in the hunt for the last spot in the playoffs. The Diamondbacks sit 3 games ahead with Chicago and Cincinnati the next two out.

The Padres will host the Baltimore Orioles Monday for the first of a three-game series. The Orioles have the best record in the American League and the second-best in all of baseball.