SAN FRANCISCO -- Austin Hedges rejoined the Padres in San Francisco on Thursday with a bit more clarity regarding his concussion symptoms.
After undergoing tests in San Diego, Hedges was diagnosed with a minor concussion that affected his vision -- more specifically, his depth perception. After leaving the team Monday, he spent the past two days undergoing vision training, and he feels as though he's nearly restored to full health.
"Whatever was going on was messing with my vision," Hedges said. "I basically did some vision training the last three days in San Diego, and each day it'd get noticeably better where I felt like I was able to finally focus on the small details and depth perception things."
Hedges said he didn't experience any of the "normal symptoms" of a concussion, though he hasn't had one before. He felt fine throughout the day but struggled with his vision when he ramped up his efforts in the batting cage.
"In the sense of a concussion, it was very, very minor," said Padres manager Andy Green. "But he was having trouble with depth perception from a vision standpoint. Obviously that's incredibly important for a catcher. They thought, give him a little bit more time and some eye training, it would resolve relatively quickly."
Tuesday is the earliest date that Hedges, who is batting .218/.259/.416 with 13 homers this season, could return to game action. Both he and Green believe he'll be activated then.
Renfroe returns
As expected, the Padres activated Hunter Renfroe on Thursday, after he had spent the minimum 10 days on the disabled list with a neck strain. Center fielder Manuel Margot was placed on the paternity list to clear room.
"I've felt good for the past three days, as in 90 to 100 percent, and today I feel really, really good," Renfroe said. "... It was mostly the neck movement. I couldn't get into my hitting stance and feel comfortable enough looking over my shoulder and tracking the ball all the way in. That was the biggest thing. Throwing was never an issue. It was just about getting into the hitting position."
Renfroe's seen a mixed bag of results in his first big league season. He got off to a sluggish start before bouncing back with a fantastic May. In 85 games entering Thursday, he was batting .231/.287/.449 with 16 homers, and he smacked his 17th, off Madison Bumgarner, in the second inning.
"Power numbers, extra-base hits are there," Renfroe said when asked to assess his rookie campaign. "Get a few singles in between, cut down on the strikeouts and keep improving on the plate-discipline part. ... It's obviously my first big league year, so you learn, you adjust to the pitchers as they adjust to you, you keep going out there and grinding every day."
Added Green: "He's shown everything the organization would want to see. Now we just want to see it on a more consistent basis."
In Renfroe's absence, Jabari Blash has thrived in right field. He moved to left Thursday but could share time with Renfroe going forward, Green said.
"The Jabari I'm seeing right now is earning his right to be on the baseball field consistently," Green said. "I don't mind watching guys compete for playing time. I'm actually excited by that prospect, with all the injuries we've had this year."