SAN DIEGO -- In his entire baseball life, Wil Myers had never experienced anything like it. He was healthy. He was on the roster. And yet, he wasn't playing.
Myers opened June with one of the worst slumps of his career. Then, he sat. Myers was out of the starting lineup for nine straight games. On Wednesday night against the Giants, he finally returned, playing center field and batting sixth.
"It hasn't been easy," said Myers, who batted .188 with a .613 OPS last month. "It's definitely been a humbling experience. ... But I also feel like it was a good spot to be in. It was like: 'Hey, bro, you've got to figure this out. We're not giving you anything.'"
He may not have been in the starting lineup. But Myers' work over the past week and a half has been intensive. He's worked mostly with the velocity machine in the batting cage. Essentially, the Padres cut the distance to home plate and cranked the machine to the max.
Myers, who leads the Majors with a 35 percent strikeout rate this season, struggled making quality contact at first, fouling pitches off and whiffing on a few. But he subtly altered the path of his swing, and he says he's found a better groove since then. Tuesday night might have offered some proof.
Myers entered in the eighth inning as part of a double-switch. On an 98 mph fastball from Giants righty Reyes Moronta, Myers went with the pitch and sent a two-run homer to the opposite field. After the game, Myers spoke with manager Andy Green, who had a message:
"It's time to go, time to get him back out there, time to play," Green said. "We need him. We've always needed him. We gave him a little bit of a breather and an opportunity to work. He put in real work every day. ... We anticipate seeing Wil doing some good things for us."
On top of the velo machine, Myers has been arriving early at Petco Park for intensive on-field work before batting practice. He's worked with the slider machine and received a few simulated at-bats, too.
In Myers' absence, the Padres used Manuel Margot in center field, a light-hitting speed-and-defense type. They even gave one start to Hunter Renfroe. Meanwhile, Franmil Reyes and Renfroe continued to anchor the corners, with playing time sprinkled in for Josh Naylor, the lone lefty-hitting outfielder on the roster.
With so many options, it's fair to wonder where Myers fits into the long-term outfield picture. After this season, he has three years remaining on the five-year, $83 million extension he signed in 2017. Sooner or later, the Padres need a long-term plan for him.
If Myers had been more productive this season, it might have made trading another outfielder -- like, say, Renfroe -- more palatable. Maybe it would've made Myers himself moveable, even with the money he's owed.
It's still possible the Padres shake things up at the Deadline by moving an outfielder. But if they were to do so, it's a clear risk. Reyes and Renfroe seem like stable long-term options right now. No one else does.
That's where Myers comes in. If he hits like the version of himself who carried the offense at times over the past four seasons, the Padres would have some leeway in their outfield.
Right now, Myers isn't that hitter. The Padres, who feel they're in the National League Wild Card hunt, can't afford to spend much time watching Myers work through his kinks in the middle of that race. Myers understands that.
"I want to earn my position back," Myers said. "I don't want this thing just given back to me. I want to go out and do enough. It's not a situation I've been in in baseball before, when you get called up and you play every day. Maybe this was a good situation to say, 'Hey, Wil, you've got to earn this back.'
"It's helped me, it's motivated me, it's humbled me, and I hope it's been a good thing."
AJ Cassavell covers the Padres for MLB.com.