Yangervis Solarte headed to DL

The heart and soul of the Padres’ clubhouse, and their hottest hitter of late, is headed to the disabled list.

He was on the starting lineup for tonight’s game against the Cubs, and he didn’t come to the plate in the first inning. But when the bell rang to take his position at second base at the bottom of the first, Chase d’Arnaud took his spot. The injury has been described as an oblique strain, an injury to the abdominal muscles along his sides, which is one of those nefarious injuries that can resolve themselves quickly or keep a player out for a while.

In his absence, the options at second and third base are the following: Cory Spangenberg, Chase d’Arnaud, Allen Cordoba, and Jose Pirela. In El Paso, Ryan Schimpf has homered in his last two games, and Carlos Asuaje seems to have found his stroke in June. As thin as the pitching has been lately, it might be likely that an extra reliever or swingman could take the roster spot vacated by Solarte’s absence.

After a slow start, Yangervis became the Padres’ hottest hitter in June, hitting .317/.394/.667 with seven home runs, including his first extra base hits from the right side this season. Celebrating his first Father’s Day with his three daughters after the tragic passing of his wife Yuliett, he seemed to be in top form in every way, as evidenced by this awesomeness captured by social media darling Chase d’Arnaud:

Sadly, we’ll have to wait a couple of weeks to see those feet dance again. Soley, we’ll miss you dearly. Come back soon, and bring those sweet dance moves with you!