ST. LOUIS -- Brett Wallace had some company on Wednesday as he watched the Padres' doubleheader from San Diego. It came in the form of Beckett Alexander, his first child, born on Monday.
Wallace returned from paternity leave on Thursday, and in a corresponding move, utility infielder Alexi Amarista was optioned to Triple-A El Paso. (Lefty reliever Keith Hessler was also sent to El Paso after serving as the 26th man for the twin bill.)
"It's definitely the most emotional-slash-impactful moment in my life, just seeing him come out," Wallace said. "The gravity of the situation is ridiculous when you're in it. It's very emotional, very exciting. We were speechless. We could just look at each other and just look at him."
Wallace said it was tough to leave his wife, Taylar, and Beckett behind to return to St. Louis, but he added it was equally tough not to board the plane with his team on Sunday night.
"It's bittersweet," he said. "You want to be in both places."
Ross on the mend:Tyson Ross hasn't faced hitters since Opening Day, and his most recent setback was an unfortunate fluke, as he twisted his ankle when he stepped on a weighted exercise ball in his hotel room earlier this month.
Ross has missed two weeks while the ankle heals -- a frustrating process.
Said manager Andy Green, who texted with Ross on Thursday: "He's bored out of his mind, he says. But he says he's feeling better, and I don't think he's too terribly far from getting on a mound. His throwing shoulder feels good, his foot's feeling better, and he says he's read more books than he did when he was at Cal."
Now the question is where Ross will slide back into his throwing program. When he injured the ankle, he was throwing his last extended bullpen sessions before he was slated to face hitters.
"The fact that he's still stretching out to 180 feet and long-tossing as far as he possibly can -- he's not back at square one," Green said. "But he's going to have to come back to throw a regular bullpen and then hopefully an extended one before going onto live BP."