SAN DIEGO -- Hector Sanchez's luck with foul balls isn't getting any better.
For the third time since the start of Spring Training the Padres backstop is dealing with an injury he sustained on a foul.
In Friday's 8-2 series-opening loss to the Dodgers, it was Joc Pederson's grazed foul ball that forced Sanchez into an early exit with a right foot contusion. Pederson fouled back a 2-2 pitch from Padres reliever Jose Torres in the top of the sixth. It hit Sanchez on the instep of his right foot.
After a team trainer looked at Sanchez for a few minutes, the Padres made the decision to remove him when he couldn't put any weight on his foot. X-rays were negative, but Sanchez was on crutches in the Padres' clubhouse after the game.
"It's going to take a couple of days for the swelling to go down and get a feel for what we're really dealing with," said Padres manager Andy Green. "We'll come in tomorrow, evaluate him, see if he's good to go or available. Right now he's pretty sore."
If the Padres place Sanchez on the disabled list, Rule 5 catcher Luis Torrens would likely step into a bigger role as the primary backup. On Friday, Austin Hedges -- the starting catcher who was supposed to receive a night off -- entered as Sanchez's replacement.
Sanchez missed time in Spring Training after fouling a ball off his own foot during batting practice. Then, in the season's opening week, he took a foul tip off his mask and missed a week with a concussion. But his bad luck runs deeper than that.
During his time in San Francisco, Sanchez garnered the nickname "El Iman" or "the magnet" for the number of times he was hit by rogue baseballs. That nickname died rather quickly, however, as the severity of his injuries increased. His concussion earlier this season was his seventh.
In Tuesday's game against Colorado, Sanchez's backswing clipped Rockies catcher Tony Wolters, who was placed on the disabled list the next day with a concussion. Then, on Thursday, Sanchez was the part of an extremely scary moment at the ballpark, when he let go of his bat on a foul ball. It flew into the stands and struck a woman in the head, forcing a delay of 13 minutes. (According to the Padres, her injuries "do not appear to be serious.")
Said Green: "When you just think what the guy's been through -- with the concussion, then he hit Wolters, gave him a concussion, let the bat go yesterday, gets hit in the foot today -- it has been unbelievable."