Padres notes: Tommy Pham activated off IL; return of Eric Hosmer considered imminent

Tommy Pham was reinstated from the injured list Friday and will serve as the Padres’ designated hitter.

His return may well contribute to the Padres eventually having too many good options to fit them all in the lineup at the start of playoff games.

But a decision on who gets the bulk of the starts at designated hitter and in left field aren’t necessarily as imminent as the returns of Eric Hosmer and Pham from the injured list.

Pham had surgery Aug. 17 to repair a hamate bone fracture in his left hand. Hosmer fractured his left index finger Sept. 7. Hosmer is expected to follow Pham back in short order, perhaps as soon as Saturday.

“We’re optimistic it’s going to be very soon, barring any setbacks,” manager Jayce Tingler said.

Who the odd man out is among those two, Mitch Moreland and Jurickson Profar might never really become an issue.

Hosmer is not expected to play first base, nor is Pham expected to be in left field every day right away.

“When those guys come back right off the bat I don’t know if they’re going to be playing a position every day,” Tingler said. “There may be a small little buildup as they progress through. I think being able to keep both those guys — Moreland and Profar — we’re going to be able to get those guys the at-bats they need to make sure they’ve got the momentum to continue helping our team.”

Eventually, provided he is healthy and producing, Hosmer will resume being the everyday first baseman. With Profar hitting .270 with a .343 on-base percentage (and .400/.424 since Aug. 30), he is also likely a virtual lock to remain in left field. That leaves the right-handed hitting Pham and left-handed hitting Moreland to work at designated hitter with the playing time likely largely dependent on how Pham is hitting.

Pham replaced Jorge Oña in Friday’s lineup. Oña was optioned to the alternate site.

Big start

Chris Paddack starts Friday night for the first time since leaving his Sept. 10 start against the Giants after two innings due to a sprained ankle.

“I think today is a big day for him,” Tingler said. “We’re interested see how he responds coming off that ankle injury as well.”

As well. As in, as well as how he pitches in general.

Paddack remains in the starting rotation heading into the postseason, and so it would certainly be good for the Padres if he regains the effectiveness of his rookie season.

The 24-year-old right-hander is still starting because the Padres believe he is close and because they felt Garrett Richards was the better option to go to the bullpen.

“At the end of the day, it came down to Garret maybe having more upside in the bullpen with his pitch arsenal, a little bit more experience in the league … and Paddack being young,” Tingler said.

The Padres believe Richards’ fastball, which reached 98 mph in his first relief appearance Wednesday, plays well out of the bullpen.

“I thought we had little more wild-card upside with Garrett with the fastball, slider and curve ball,” Tingler said. “Not to say bullpen guys can’t be fastball, change-up primarily. But just continuing Paddack’s path of what he’s doing.”

It is unclear what the Padres will do with Paddack for their first playoff series, which will be a best of three. They won’t need a fourth starter until the best-of-five Division Series, should they advance that far.

Paddack has three starts this season in which he has gone six innings and allowed one or no earned runs. He also has three starts in which he allowed at least four earned runs and did not last longer than five innings. His 4.73 ERA is 1.41 points higher than last season, and his 1.22 WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) is .24 higher than last season.

Slower go

When the Padres called up Luis Campusano to make his major league debut on Sept. 4 it was with the idea that their No. 2 position prospect could be an offensive weapon in the postseason.

That will be a challenge now, as time is running out on his being able to return from a sprained wrist. Tingler said Friday only that Campusano’s rehab was behind Hosmer and Pham.

Campusano homered as the designated hitter in his first game and was scheduled to start at catcher Sept. 5 when he hurt his left wrist taking a swing in batting practice.