Miguel Andujar's Injury Offers Padres A Chance to Reset Expectations

Miguel Andujar seemed like a classic pickup for the San Diego Padres in the A.J. Preller era: an affordable journeyman who was brought in to lend the team one, specific skill. In this case, it was to hit left-handed pitching, and that’s exactly what he did in March and April. But like the rest of the team, Andjuar’s performance cratered in May and June. Now, he’s on the injured list with a hamstring strain, creating more uncertainty for an underperforming lineup. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. 

The Padres signed Andujar to a one-year deal to be a part-time DH, splitting time with Gavin Sheets' left-handed power bat, as well as to be a key contributor off the bench. The DH is “probably a spot that we’re going to keep open throughout the season, be able to give Manny [Machado] a day DH-ing, Xander [Bogaerts] a day DH-ing, Fernando [Tatis Jr.], [Ramón] Laureano, [Jackson] Merrill,” manager Craig Stammen said after Andujar’s signing was announced in February. “I think it’s a strategic way to keep those guys a little fresher during the season.”

The Padres’ offensive woes and injury problems dashed that wishful preseason thinking. Infielder Jake Cronenworth has been sidelined for weeks due to lingering concussion symptoms, which has forced Sheets to become an everyday first baseman. That’d be fine if Sheets wasn’t a terrible defender and could hit lefties. The Nick Castellanos experiment lasted all of 110 days. Laureano played with a hip injury until he simply couldn’t anymore. And regularly resting the star players is out of the question with such a thin lineup and worsening record.

All of this has resulted in Andujar becoming the de facto everyday designated hitter, and for a while that was working out. During the Padres 67 games before he went on the IL, Andujar appeared in 45 of them as the DH. In March and April, his OPS stood at .830 and he routinely batted in the two-hole. It was a continuation of a resurgent career year in 2025, when he had .822 OPS and accrued 1.1 fWAR. Against lefties, he nearly had an 1.000 OPS. In the first month of this season, he was easily one of the team's best hitters, and dating back to last season, which he spent with the Athletics and Cincinnati Reds, he had been one of the better platoon bats in baseball.

A decent OPS in May of .670 and a woeful OPS in June of .461 quieted that feel-good story. Before his hamstring injury, he was playing like one of the worst hitters in baseball, though his is a weird profile. He has hit the ball hard all season, and his barrel rates, exit velocities, and strikeout rate aren’t out of line with career averages. Still, his slash line and expected outcomes have fallen off a cliff. If there's one culprit, then it’s his chase rate. 

Andujar has a lifetime 37.1% chase rate, and in 2018 and 2025, his two best seasons, he had chase rates no more than 36.2%. His strong performance this past March and April aligns with that precedent. His chase rate was 35.6%, but then it leapt up to 43.9% in May and an intolerable 46.2% in June. Over the course of a season, that would be, by far, his worst chase rate. It makes sense, then, why in June he has been batting, by far, the worst in his career. Concurrently, his swing rate is up from 50.5% in March and April to 56.9% in June. 

Why is Andujar swinging more, especially at pitches outside of the zone? Maybe weighing on his shoulders is an anemic offense. He could be pressing to make up for the lineup’s deficiencies. Maybe he has devolved into bad habits as the season grinds on. Refocusing on the basics—stop swinging at bad pitches—wouldn’t hurt. In any case, the Padres simply cannot afford June Andujar to return from the IL. They need April Andujar.

But the biggest problem with Andujar doesn’t rest with the man himself. It’s with Tatis and Machado and Cronenworth and all the other regulars who, because of their lack of performance, made Andujar’s output essential. He was signed by the Padres to play a supporting role, but thus far, he’s had to do so much more.