Padres call up Ty France, place Jose Pirela on Injured List

After our debate about what the San Diego Padres should do at second base, both short-term and long-term, here comes some news that could help solve the issue:

Ty France is a very good hitter that has been on fire lately. In 2018, he posted a .798 OPS in AA and a .914 OPS in AAA while playing almost exclusively at 3B. He has, at times, filled in as a first baseman and seems perfectly capable there.

With Manny Machado and Eric Hosmer blocking his path at those spots for the foreseeable future, the El Paso Chihuahuas have experimented with Ty France at 2B this season. In 6 games at 2B, he’s yet to make an error. Furthermore, the team would like to open up 2B so that Luis Urias can start getting regular playing time in El Paso.

The move to 2B certainly hasn’t affected France’s bat, as his OPS this season sits at an unreal 1.395 at the time of his call-up. 9 home runs in 19 games probably has something to do with that. If he can hit like that with the Padres, Ian Kinsler will find himself on the bench more often than not.

In the corresponding move, Jose Pirela heads back down to the Chihuahuas until an injury occurs with the big-league club (Update: Pirela is injured). During his short stint in San Diego, he earned 5 plate appearances and failed to get on base. On the bright side, he looked okay defensively in left field!

Welcome to San Diego, Ty France. See you soon (probably), Jose Pirela.

UPDATE: Pirela is injured.