Injury Report: Padres Lose Short Stop Cabrera for Up To Two Months

Something the San Diego Padres didn't want to deal with, but aren't exactly not used to, an injury to a short stop.

For the previous three years, the Padres had dealt with former short stop Khalil Greene missing a significant chunk of time due to injury and the majority of the time it was to his throwing hand. An injury that, because of the lack of depth at that position, would make a huge offensive and defensive impact on the team. It prompted the Padres to part with Greene, trading him to St. Louis this past off-season.

This time,it's young short stop Everth Cabrera who suffered a hand injury in Sunday's 5-4 loss to the Phillies and will miss at least two months of the season according to Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union Tribune.

Cabrera is scheduled to have a CT done on the hand later today, but the early prognosis was not good. He apparently suffered a fracture hamate bone during his 6th inning at bat against Phillies' pitcher J.A. Happ.

The hamate is a triangular bone at the base of the fifth metacarpal (little finger) near the wrist. Hamate fractures aren't unusual among a lot of players and there's no risk of not making a complete recovery from the injury.

In the interim, look for Luis Rodriguez and possibly Edgar Gonzalez to split starts during Cabrera's absence.

Look for Rodriguez to get most of the time at short stop, he doesn't have a batting average (.231) that will turn your head, but with an on base percentage (.395) that the Padre brass like, he's the odds on favorite to get the majority of the starts.

For a kid who hadn't seen time above low A-ball in the Colorado Rockies' system, the San Diego Padres took a risk on Cabrera and selected him in this past Rule IV draft. Cabrera wasted no time in impressing Padre coaches, not only with his athleticism but also in his tremendous speed, something this team hasn't had in quite some time.

He would make the usual mistakes, rushing his throws and trying to make too much happen at one time, but he worked as hard as any player during spring training and was awarded by making four starts in the Padres' first thirteen games, hitting .308 (4-for-13) with a double.