Padres' Luis Arraez Appears to Have Avoided Serious Injury

Take a breath Padres fans.

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

The San Diego Padres got a scare on Sunday, when Luis Arráez exited their game against the Kansas City Royals early. Arráez was hurt sliding into second base after he hit Jose Azocar in for the tying score. The good news is the injury, which manager Mike Shildt called a jammed right shoulder and "a little bit" of a neck issue, is not serious and Arráez plans to return to next day. Shildt added that pulling Arráez was primarily a precautionary move.

“I’m good,” Arráez said after the game, via Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. “I’ll be playing tomorrow.”

“When I slid, my head was to second (to the left) and then my arm still to the right,” Arráez said. “I looked to second, and I twisted it. It’s not too bad. I’ll be fine.”

This is still a huge sigh of relief for the Padres. Losing Arráez would have been a major blow. Along with the team missing Xander Bogaerts for the next few months, Arráez has simply been fantastic.

Since trading for Arráez from the Miami Marlins in early May, Arráez has slashed an incredible .391/.414/.455 with 43 hits and 14 runs through 26 games.

Overall on the season, he has slashed .340/.376/.409 with one home run and 17 RBIs. He is first in MLB in batting average and first in hits as well.

Arraez was recently coming off his fourth four-hit game with the Padres on Friday, when he helped lead the Padres to a 11-8 win over the Royals. He's become one of the most valuable members of the lineup, helping the Padres to a 32-30 record heading into Monday's game against the Angels.

The Padres will need to survive the injury to Arraez to hang around the National League wild-card race. Long term, keeping Arráez healthy will be essential for any Padres' postseason hopes.