PHILADELPHIA -- The Padres' 11-5 loss to the Phillies on Friday night appeared to be the least of their worries. Center fielder Manuel Margot -- an exciting young talent who had been turning a corner at the plate -- exited the game in the bottom of the eighth inning with an injured left wrist.
The team announced Saturday that Margot sustained a sprained wrist and would be reevaluated again later in the day.
The injury occurred while Margot made an all-out diving attempt on a liner from Cesar Hernandez into the right-center-field gap. The ball caromed off his glove, and his left hand bent backward as it collided with the grass.
Margot remained on the ground for a minute or two while he was examined by a team trainer. He walked off the field under his own power.
"It bent back when he dove for the baseball and kind of rolled underneath him," said Padres manager Andy Green. "He was in pain out there. Obviously, we took him out pretty quickly."
After a shaky start to the season, Margot had turned things around over the past month. He's hitting .245 on the year, but that clip sits at .292 since the start of June.
He was 1-for-2 with two walks and two stolen bases on Friday night before he was injured. That's precisely who the Padres want Margot to be: an on-base threat who can wreak havoc when he reaches. Early in the season, he didn't do much of either.
"It stings," Green said. "He's battled so hard. We loved what he did on the bases tonight. … He's been having good at-bats for a month and a half now. He's becoming a guy that's been real productive for us over and over again.
"We're hoping it's a day. You really don't know with things like this. It could be something small. It could be something severe."
Thankfully for the Padres, it turned out to be the former.
Because the club had used their full contingent of outfielders off the bench, A.J. Ellis made his first career defensive appearance at a position other than catcher. He played left, while William Myers shifted to center. The stint lasted one batter; Rhys Hoskins popped to Myers, ending the inning.