San Diego Padres DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

The Pittsburgh Pirates have acquired catcher Brett Sullivan from the San Diego Padres in exchange for outfielder Bryce Johnson and cash considerations. Sullivan will provide some much-needed catching depth in the Steel City with Endy Rodriguez (finger) on the 10-day injured list and Joey Bart (back) battling an injury. Last season, Sullivan appeared in seven games for the Padres. Across this brief stint, he held a .188 AVG. Sullivan made his MLB debut during the 2023 season with San Diego and held a .210/.244/.284 slash line across 33 contests. Across 375 contests at the Triple-A level, Sullivan has posted a .271/.342/.449 slash line. Fantasy managers should expect Sullivan to begin his tenure with the Pirates at Triple-A, but he should push for a return to the majors.

The San Diego Union-Tribune's Jeff Sanders reports that San Diego Padres second baseman Jake Cronenworth (ribs) could miss more than a month due to a non-displaced fracture in his ribs after he was hit by a pitch in Chicago on April 6. Cronenworth started the next two games against the Athletics but was pulled early in the second game before being placed on the injured list late last week. The 31-year-old probably won't be ready to be activated from the IL when he's eligible this Saturday, April 19. While Crone is sidelined, the light-hitting Jose Iglesias will see most of the action at the keystone, with the lefty-hitting Tyler Wade being another option. Fantasy managers stashing Cronenworth will need to be patient, as he might not be back until early May. He was hitting .257 (9-for-35) with two home runs, five RBI and seven runs scored in his first 12 games in 2025 before injuring his ribs.

San Diego Padres right-handed reliever Bryan Hoeing (shoulder) threw another bullpen session on Tuesday and mixed in breaking pitches for the first time. Hoeing was placed on the 15-day injured list at the end of March after being delayed at the start of spring training with a right-shoulder injury. The 28-year-old is recovering from a strained right shoulder but appears to be getting close to going on a minor-league rehab assignment. If Hoeing can avoid a setback once he begins facing live hitters, he could return to San Diego's big-league bullpen before the end of April. After beginning last year with the Miami Marlins, Hoeing had a career-low 1.52 ERA and 0.80 WHIP with 18 strikeouts and five walks in 23 2/3 relief innings for the Friars in the second half of the season. Hoeing will return to a key setup role for SD when he's activated from the IL.

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Yu Darvish (elbow) played catch off of the mound on Tuesday, writes AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. It's a step in the right direction for Darvish, who still figures to be a ways away despite reportedly also playing loss toss out to 180 feet recently. There is no set timetable for his return, but the next step in his recovery will be throwing bullpens when he is ready. He landed on the injured list at the start of the season after dealing with elbow inflammation during the spring. He has struggled to stay healthy in recent years but remained productive when he takes the mound, posting a 3.31 ERA and 1.07 WHIP in 16 starts in 2024. Darvish is likely at least three weeks away from coming off the injured list.

San Diego Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill (hamstring) is ramping up to baseball activity, according to AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. He was on the field for early batting practice and practiced bunting, but wasn't doing any running yet. There's still no definite timetable for Merrill, who is recovering from a right hamstring strain that he suffered during the first week of April. At the time, he had already racked up three home runs and 10 RBI with a .378 batting average through his first 10 games.