Padres put Luis Arraez on 7-day concussion injured list following scary collision

DETROIT (AP) — Luis Arraez was placed on the seven-day concussion injured list by the San Diego Padres on Monday.

The three-time batting champion got hurt Sunday night in Houston when he collided with Astros second baseman Mauricio Dubón on a frightening play at first base.

Arraez was put on a backboard and carted out of the stadium. He was taken to a hospital but returned to the ballpark following San Diego’s 3-2 victory.

Padres manager Mike Shildt said Arraez was sore on Monday, as expected, but tests showed no structural damage.

“It’s overall very favorable relative to how scary that looked,” Shildt said. “Was able to celebrate at the very end, came in afterward with his teammates. Alert, so that was good for everybody’s spirits — mostly Luis of course.

“Woke up, slept well. As you would expect had some stiffness in his neck, but nothing cognitively is anything that we’re overly concerned about. He is going to go, rightfully so, in concussion protocol. More testing will be done. Hopefully it’s more out of caution than necessity.”

Arraez was headed back to San Diego on Monday. To replace him on the active roster, the Padres recalled infielder Mason McCoy from Triple-A El Paso before their series opener against the Detroit Tigers.

Shildt said Arraez did have a small cut on his jaw. He will undergo more testing, and it’s too soon to tell when he will be able to resume baseball activities.

“But at the moment, it’s kind of the best-case scenario for Luis,” Shildt said. “We’ll get through the testing, make sure cognitively he’s OK still, has range of motion, and then we’ll go from there. … It’s as good as we could possibly expect.”

Arraez dragged a bunt in the first inning toward first baseman Christian Walker, who flipped the ball to Dubón covering the bag. That’s where he collided with Arraez, who appeared to hit Dubón’s arm or elbow with his face.

Both players fell to the ground, but Arraez took the worst of it, laying motionless in foul territory next to first base as athletic trainers and coaches from both teams came out to tend to him.

“It was scary,” Dubón said. “I mean, just watching him not move. It was scary. Especially people know the type of player I am. I’m not a dirty player or anything. So it sucks. Worst part about it is you get death threats from stuff like this and everything. So it’s going to be a fun ride home.”

Dubón and Walker as well as Padres stars Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado stood and watched as Arraez was placed on a backboard and carted out of the stadium. As he was being placed on the cart, Arraez put his arm around Shildt.

“It was a sad moment, especially getting close to him and seeing him on the ground like that, you definitely get scared,” Tatis said Sunday night. “You almost go into tears, but holding up. You sit down right next to him and start praying for him right away. Happy he is back with us already. Just happy he’s standing up. It’s a sad part of the game, but stuff happens sometimes. Just happy he’s alright.”

Play resumed after a 10-minute delay.

Arraez is hitting .287 with three home runs, seven RBIs and a .755 OPS. The three-time All-Star infielder has won three consecutive batting titles, one in the American League and two in the National League.

He had 203 hits in 2023 with Miami and led the NL with 200 for the Marlins and Padres combined last season.

“Guy’s got the heart of a champion,” Shildt said.

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