The Padres lost shortstop Luis Rodriguez to a severely sprained ankle last night and now have a fairly serious depth issue at the position. MLB.com's David Brown spoke after the game with manager Bud Black, who noted "noted the presence of (Chris) Burke, along with David Eckstein and Edgar Gonzalez as options 'in a pinch' but indicated general manager Kevin Towers would be working on bringing in someone else."
"We're working our way through that right now," Black added. "K.T., I'm sure, as we speak, is doing evertyhing he can to try to fill that void."
Suspecting the San Diego manager may have been alluding to a possible trade or free agent signing, I probed Corey Brock, the Padres' MLB.com beat writer, for a bit more information. He was kind enough to respond.
"I think that with Rodriguez heading to the DL and rookie Everth Cabrera already there, the team might be covered for a while in-house," Brock wrote in an e-mail. "I believe Eckstein would fill-in at shortstop for a while if needed, leaving Burke and Gonzalez to play a spot (second base) where they might be better off."
As for a free agent signing or trade, Brock noted that "Going outside the organization likely won't happen. They're not looking to add salary." Sounds about right.
