CRAIG’S COMMENTS: Padres promote INF-OF Rengifo as Taylor goes on IL; Fermin starts rehab assignment; Machado gets night off; Roster versatility tested farther, and the Hoffman vs. Miller closer entry debate

Mason Miller at Petco Park

Before Wednesday night’s game against Arizona at Petco Park, the Padres promoted infielder-outfielder Luis Rengifo from Triple-A El Paso and placed outfielder Samad Taylor on the 10-day injured list with a right oblique strain. Padres manager Craig Stammen addressed the move — the Padres also sent catcher Freddy Fermin to El Paso on a rehab assignment — at the start of his pregame media session:

“Samad left the game early Tuesday night,” said Stammen. “You saw the swing he took. He had some pain in his right abdomen, so he has a right oblique strain. “Samad was playing regularly in left. We have Ty (France) who can play first. Gavin (Sheets) can play left. Miguel Andujar can play left. Rengifo can play left. (Jase) Bowen can play left and he’s playing left tonight. We have a versatile roster that can play a lot of different places.

“It stinks that Taylor is hurt and we’ll have him out of the lineup for a while. He’s been part of our success. But we have other guys who can fill in. Taylor has had oblique injuries in the past. He knows what it feels like when it’s really bad or when it’s something that he can work through. We’ll keep evaluating him and see. He’s probably going to get an MRI on the injury to see what type of strain it is and what grade. We’ll be able to come up with a plan after that.”

“We just signed Rengifo a week ago and got him out here. He’s been performing well in Triple-A and we’re excited to have him on the squad. He’s a switch-hitting utility player who can play the outfield and the infield. He could also fit in as a pinch-hit option for us. He’s been in the big leagues for a while, so he brings a little experience.”

Stammen on Manny Machado being out of the lineup Wednesday after taking a foul ball off his foot Tuesday:

“It’s just a day off,” said Stammen. “I was going to give him a day off this week at some point. Today just made a lot of sense. He fouled the ball off his big toe. It was definitely sore. He couldn’t run nearly as well last night. But it’s almost like a scheduled day off for him. I haven’t talked to him about how his toe feels. So, we’ll see how he’s feeling and judge his availability off the bench as the game progresses.

“Manny had some imaging done and everything was great, negative. Manny did not try to talk his way into the lineup tonight. He and I had talked about him taking a day off this series at some point. We were trying to figure out what day that was going to be. It worked out that today was a good day.”

Stammen on Jake Cronenworth’s offensive spurt since returning from the concussion injured list:

“Jake’s definitely good against right-handed pitching,” said Stammen. “We have that extra lefty in the lineup who gives us that quality at-bat every time. We know that when Jake gets hot, he’s a big part of our offense. If we get him going, we can score some runs.”

Stammen on what the Padres need to do to put together a run heading into the All-Star break: “The only thing we can do is show up with the right energy and the right attitude every single day. If we do that, that will give us the best chance of having success out on the field.”

Stammen talked about Bowen:

“With Taylor on the injured list, it’s a good opportunity for Jase,” said Stammen. “He’s had some good at-bats the last two nights. We really liked the swings he’s put on the baseball. It looks like the Jase Bowen we saw in spring training and who we saw in Triple-A before we called him up. There’s always pressure that you put on yourself when you’re a rookie. You come up and feel you have to be this extraordinary player to stay in the big leagues. Sometimes, you need a little bit of a breather. I think he’s settling into being the best version of who he can be a little bit. He probably hasn’t had the consistent at-bats needed to be super locked in at the plate. But he’s going to get an opportunity tonight and we’ll see what he’s got.”

Stammen who had the better closer entry, Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman or Mason Miller?:

“I think they’re both really good,” Stammen responded. “I liked Trevor’s. That was the old school. That was like the originator of the closer walk-out. So, we have to giver it to the originator. He gets the №1 nod on the best walk-out.”