Alonso went 2-for-4 with a solo HR. He scored two runs in the game.

Fantasy Impact: The HR was only his fifth of the season which is very low for a first basemen. He has a solid batting average and will have some solid games. Despite his benefits, first base is a solid fantasy position so there are a lot of leagues where there are enough better options to keep him from being a big factor.


(rotoworld.com)

Padres first baseman Yonder Alonso had to be tested for a concussion on Saturday after being hit on the head by Justin Upton’s helmet when Upton threw it in frustration. 

On Sunday, Alonso decided to play it safe and wear full catcher’s gear in the dugout, just in case. 

Thankfully, Alonso tested negative for a concussion and he seemed to have forgiven Upton by the time he spoke to reporters on Saturday night. 

“I was just watching the game and felt something just hit me right across the head,” Alonso said, according to MLB.com. “But it’s part of the game. Guys get upset. I’m fine. Luckily, everything checked out well. We’re going to move on.”

The two hugged it out on Sunday, too.

Just in case: http://t.co/sMqfxY2LxN pic.twitter.com/PPreRYzs6V

— MLB (@MLB) August 16, 2015

(si.com)

Yonder Alonso held his Celebrity Basebowl Tournament on Wednesday as a fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego.

Question: As someone who was raised in the Boys & Girls Club, what does it mean to give back in a big way with your tournament?
Answer: Giving back to the Boys & Girls Club is such a huge deal. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to raise awareness for the club and the inner-city kids. I’m a huge believer in always giving back to the next upcoming (generation) and the future. It’s always an excellent tribute to them and obviously to us. It was just an opportunity to have something (for the kids).

Q: Playing for the Padres, it’s probably really exciting for the kids to see you out there putting on the event. Did professional athletes help out at events you attended as a kid?
A: Growing up in the Boys & Girls Club, you had guys like Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter helping out. So many guys would come and give back to the Boys & Girls Club that I was a part of and it was a learning experience and I dream of mine to be able to reach their level and do the same for the kids today. Once they see guys like us helping out, maybe some of today’s kids will want to go that route and reach that big league potential. Those are just little things I try to help the kids out with.

Q: You talked about Jeter and Rodriguez helping out at some of the events you attended when you were younger. Is there a specific story of meeting or interacting with them that stands out to you?
A: One of the first times I met Jeter and Rodriguez, they had a Boys & Girls Club event to raise money during Christmas time. We were able to hang out with them all day and raise a lot of money for us. That was the first time where I saw those guys giving back and it was something that I wanted to be part of as well. It was a day I’ll always remember and I was only about 10 or 11 years old. I feel like if I can do that for even just one or two kids, it would make my day.

Q: When did you truly get serious about hosting a fundraiser for the kids of the Boys & Girls Club?
A: The minute I was a professional. That’s just what I wanted to do — I wanted to give back and do something like that.


(sandiegouniontribune.com)

Alonso went 2-for-3 with a walk in the 2-1 loss. He managed to score the only run the Padres got.

Fantasy Impact: He still is not elite or even strong. However, he has his place in deeper leagues and the possible addition of 3B eligibility in some leagues adds even more value. If he has 3B eligibility, then he becomes a possibility for a CI spot in medium leagues. He also can serve as a counter-balance if you have a team with a lot of power but a need for someone to raise your position in BA, as he is hitting .307 so far this season.


(fantasypros.com)

I've heard the arguments. First basemen should hit more homers. First basemen should drive in more runs.

But at this point in time, the Padres are better off with Yonder Alonso at first base than anyone else.

Offensively and defensively, Alonso is the best option. Yes, Wil Myers proved he could play first when Alonso first went on the disabled list May 8 with the bone bruise to his right scapula. And Yangervis Solarte did the best possible job when he took over at first when Myers (left wrist tendinitis) followed Alonso to the DL three days later.

But Myers and Solarte both better serve the Padres elsewhere if Alonso is hitting what he is hitting -- which is .352 with a .439 on-base percentage.

When Alonso was injured, he was hitting .333 with a .427 on-base percentage, marks that ranked among the top five hitters in the National League. He was 3-for-4 with two runs against the Mets on Tuesday night in his return from the DL.

Plus, Alonso made a leaping catch to deprive the Mets of an extra-base hit when the game was still in question.

The left-handed-hitting Alonso is adept at playing first base. He's a superior defender to Solarte, a switch-hitter who could still spell Alonso at first against tougher left-handed pitchers. Myers looked good at first, but the sample size is too small to really define his ability there.

Besides, the Padres are better served by having the bats of both Alonso and Myers in the lineup. That might also go for Solarte.


(padres.com)

SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego Padres have reinstated first baseman Yonder Alonso from the 15-day disabled list.

Alonso, on the DL with right shoulder bruise retroactive to May 8, was hitting .333 with one home run and 10 RBIs when he suffered the injury May 7 against Arizona. He dived for a ground ball and landed on his shoulder.

The Padres optioned right-hander Cory Mazzoni to Triple-A El Paso on Tuesday.


(espn.com)

Padres manager Bud Black said it's likely that first baseman Yonder Alonso is back with the club on Tuesday, according to San Diego radio station Mighty 1090 AM.

Alonso has been rehabbing a bruised shoulder that landed him on the disabled list back in early May. Alonso hit a single and double during his fifth rehab assignment on Sunday.

Alonso is hitting .333 in 26 games.


(cbssports.com)

Yonder Alonso moved his minor league rehab assignment up to Triple-A El Paso on Friday.

He played in two games at High-A Lake Elsinore, going 1-for-6 with three walks before joining El Paso where he went 0-for-3 with a pair of walks and two runs scored on Friday. He's getting closer to a return to the Padres and could be activated from the disabled list at the beginning of next week.


(rotoworld.com)

Padres first baseman Yonder Alonso went 1 for 3 at the plate in his first rehab game for Class A Elsinore on Wednesday. Alonso, who is currently on the 15-day DL with a shoulder injury, also drew a walk.

Alonso hasn't played since May 8 when he suffered the injury and is hitting .333 with 10 RBI in 87 at-bats this season.


(cbssports.com)

NEWS UPDATE
Alonso (shoulder) will join High-A Lake Elsinore for a rehab assignment beginning Wednesday, MLB.com's Corey Brock reports.

ROTOWIRE FANTASY ANALYSIS
Alonso is scheduled to hit on the field Monday in Anaheim, and will then start his rehab assignment. It's unclear how many rehab games he'll require, but he could be back on the field for the Padres by next week.


(rotowire.com)

Padres first baseman Yonder Alonso is "still a ways away" from return to baseball activities, manager Bud Black said per Bleacher Report.

Alonso, who is currently on the 15-day DL with a shoulder injury, has a rotator cuff issue that is keeping him away from the field. Alonso has been out of action since May 8 and is hitting .333 with 10 RBI in 87 at-bats this season.


(rotoworld.com)

The San Diego Padres placed first baseman Yonder Alonso on the 15-day disabled list Saturday with a bruised right shoulder and recalled outfielder Abraham Almonte from Triple-A El Paso.

Alonso was hurt diving for a ball in the bottom of the eighth inning on Thursday against Arizona.

He is batting .333 with 11 runs scored and a .427 on-base percentage in 26 games this season.


(bnd.com)

Padres first baseman Yonder Alonso connected for a solo home run off Rubby De La Rosa in the second inning of Monday's 8-4 loss to Arizona. It was his first home run since since Aug. 11 of last season.

Alonso, who has 28 career home runs in 412 games, is batting .360 (9 for 25) with one double, one home run, two RBI, three runs, one stolen base, four walks and four strikeouts in seven games.


(cbssports.com)

Yonder Alonso brought the wood in Sunday's loss to the Rockies, going 3-for-3 with three RBI.

Alonso cleared the bases, which were loaded at the time, with a double to right field in the first inning. He doubled again to lead off the third and singled in the fifth. Alonso had been hitless in his first six spring at-bats, so he brought his average all the way up to .333 with the performance.


(rotoworld.com)

Padres first baseman Yonder Alonso has been having issues with his right wrist/hand since getting hit by a pitch late in May 2013. However, he is hopeful the issues are behind him coming off surgery in August, per U-T San Diego.

“It's a monkey off your back type of thing where you kind of just deal with it for a little while and finally put it behind you and go on to do the things I can do when I'm healthy,” Alonso said, adding that he was reporting with zero restrictions.

“(Injuries) are part of the game. You're going to have your bruises here and there. That's over with. Hopefully it's the last time I answer questions about my wrist. Knock on wood.”


(cbssports.com)

Padres right-hander Tyson Ross and Yonder Alonso both avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year contracts, per the team's official website. Ross has settled for $5.25 million, per MLB.com. Alonso is set to make $1.65 million in 2015, per ESPN.

Ross registered a 2.81 ERA and 195 strikeouts over 195 2/3 innings last season. Alonso slashed .240/.285/.397 with seven homers and 27 RBI over 267 at-bats.


(cbssports.com)

Position: First base
2015 Opening Day age: 27
Contract status: Arbitration-eligible for the first time; made $980,000 in 2014.
Key stats: .240 avg., .285 OBP, .397 SLG, 7 HRs, 27 RBIs, 27 R, 6 SBs, 267 ABs

Trending: Down – Three years ago, Alonso set a rookie record with 39 doubles, instilling some faith that there was some untapped power potential in his left-handed stroke. But right hand/wrist injuries not only torpedoed his last two campaigns with the Padres, they made him a serious non-tender candidate as rookie General Manager A.J. Preller took a wrecking ball to his inherited roster. What he has in Alonso remains something of a mystery: He’s a first-round talent who was slashing .421/.477/.737 upon returning from the disabled list in late July until one last wrist injury sent shelved him for good until 2014, but he has yet to stay healthy since that rookie season.

2015 outlook: According to Alonso, season-ending surgery appears to have taken care of his right hand/wrist issues once and for all. With all of their upgrades in the outfield, the Padres would be happy to have Alonso turn in a campaign along the lines of his rookie season (.273/.348/.393), especially considering their loack of left-handed bats in the lineup. Preller, however, may be short on patience if Alonso starts as slowly as he did last year (.167/.198/.229 in April). Already, Alonso will likely take a seat for Tommy Medica or Will Middlebrooks against tougher left-handed pitching.


(utsandiego.com)

While General Manager A.J. Preller went about overhauling the Padres’ roster last month, Yonder Alonso watched from afar.

Alonso, the Padres’ incumbent and oft-encumbered first baseman, was in France in early December for the wedding of his sister, Yainee, to Orioles third baseman Manny Machado. By mid-December, Alonso was back at his offseason home in Miami, ramping up his training regimen. Meanwhile, in one 48-hour stretch, Preller traded for Matt Kemp, Justin Upton, Wil Myers, Derek Norris and Will Middlebrooks, putting San Diego squarely in the national spotlight.

“I was all up for it,” Alonso said by phone Thursday. “I was enjoying what everyone was watching and enjoying. I was just excited, not only for the pieces we got but for the future and present of this club.”

Whether Alonso himself figures into the present – to say nothing of the future – has been muddled of late.

Though the likelihood of Alonso’s opening a fourth season with the Padres grows with each passing day, just weeks ago the 27-year-old was considered a non-tender candidate. Three years after the Padres acquired a highly regarded prospect from the Reds, he has yet to fulfill that promise.

“I really thought he would unleash some power,” one rival scout said recently. “It’s been disappointing.”

Alonso turns 28 on April 8, mere hours into a new season for which the Padres have high hopes. In recent years, their offense has been torpedoed by a combination of misfortune and underperformance. Both describe the left-handed-hitting Alonso, who batted .240 with seven home runs in 2014, again missing chunks of time with right wrist and hand injuries.

The latest doubled as the most disheartening. In August, Alonso, coming off a bout with wrist tendinitis, was preparing to go in the on-deck circle when he felt a pop. Later that month, he underwent season-ending surgery to repair a torn tendon in the top of his right forearm.

Alonso, however, has retained his relentless optimism. He has been working out and throwing at full strength since a little more than a month ago. He has been hitting in the cage since Jan. 1.

“I feel 100 percent, making strides toward obviously being ready for spring training,” Alonso said. “I feel amazing. ... I’m pain-free, which, for me, my goodness, was like taking a monkey off my back. It was a stressful period I went through.”

Alonso’s injury troubles began May 31, 2013, when he took a pitch off his right hand, suffering a fractured metacarpal bone. He ended up playing 97 games that year, hitting .281 with six home runs.

Even including his rookie season in 2012, when he finished with 39 doubles, Alonso has hit .268 with just 22 home runs in 1,150 at-bats with the Padres. He has slugged only .387.

Simultaneously, he has made himself into an above-average first baseman and is one of the few lefty bats on a roster now loaded with right-handed power. Alonso, who could make about $1.5 million in his first year of arbitration-eligibility, is confident that surgery has cleared what was a lingering obstacle.

“People talk about injuries. They say, ‘You’re injury-prone,’” Alonso said. “At the end of the day, it was one injury. I was hit by a pitch. With that being said, it took a little long (to recover). But I’m over the hump. I’m healthy.

“It’s going out there and knowing I’m a good player, just worrying about the things I can control. What I can control in the offseason is making sure my body’s completely healthy.”

What he can’t control are the decisions above him. While Preller has said the Padres are “looking at a situation most likely with Yonder and (the right-handed-hitting) Tommy Medica,” the new GM certainly has not hesitated to upgrade at multiple other positions. First base still rates as a question mark; Middlebrooks, who will compete for the third-base job, also could see time across the diamond when the opponent starts a left-hander.

In theory, a healthy Alonso should provide solid production. At the same time, the new acquisitions should provide him with a lower-pressure environment. He may never hit 20 home runs, but with all the power coming aboard, the Padres would gladly take, say, 35 doubles.

“I’m very happy and very excited for not only how I feel but for all the things that have been going on with the team,” said Alonso, who is scheduled to arrive in San Diego this week for a few days of working with hitting coach Mark Kotsay. “It’s been a lot of fun to watch. … I want to be able to be myself and be able to help the team win.”


(utsandiego.com)

Padres first baseman Yonder Alonso has been able to ramp up his activity after August wrist surgery, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Alonso had surgery to repair a damaged tendon in his right wrist in August. He's been able to put in some work in early December, and is optimistic about his health. "I feel amazing," Alonso said regarding his current status.

The 27-year-old has had a tough time since joining the Padres in 2012. He hasn't hit particularly well, and has missed time with hand, wrist and forearm issues. Alonso hit .240/.285/.397 in 267 at-bats before the injury last season.


(cbssports.com)

The owners of baseball’s worst offense in 2014, the Padres are sure to be on the hunt for a bat or two as the offseason officially arrives, and they’d have good reason to look for some thump to stick at first base.

San Diego’s inhabitants at that premium power position drove in just 69 runs in 2014, the fourth-lowest total in the National League and the bulk of them from hitters other than their opening day starter: Yonder Alonso.

For the second year in a row, the 27-year-old Alonso endured right hand/wrist issues that, at its worst, all but sapped his ability to drive the ball. This time around, Alonso’s batting average slipped to a career low .240, he drove in just 27 runs in 84 games and his slugging percentage failed to crest .400 for a third straight season before he elected to undergo season-ending surgery.

The procedure – which addressed a ruptured tendon stemming from a pitch that broke a bone in his right hand in 2013 – and ensuing rehab should have Alonso at 100 percent come spring training. The question is whether or not a healthy Alonso can hit enough to be part of the solution in San Diego.

STAT TO NOTE: .157
Isolated power (slugging percentage minus batting average) measures a hitter’s raw power and there are two observations to take away from Alonso’s contributions in that department in 2014.

While Alonso’s .157 isolated power nearly doubled his production in that category in 2013, his first injury-shortened season, it ranked 30th among first basemen with at least 250 plate appearances, according to fangraphs.com.

Not that power ever ranked among Alonso’s best assets, especially upon moving into Petco Park as part of the trade that sent Mat Latos to the Reds. Yet although he never hit more than 15 homers in a season in the minors, the 39 doubles that Alonso collected as a rookie in 2012 (.120 ISO) suggested that he possessed some untapped power potential.

And maybe there is.

After managing nine homers in 2012, Alonso was on a near-20-homer pace last year when a broken hand derailed his season. He was never the same last year and was rarely right in 2014, when he .167 the first month of the season and endured two trips to the disabled list with nagging right hand/wrist discomfort.
The first trip appeared to have righted his ship.

Alonso’s batting line swelled to .421/.477/.737 and his isolated power jumped to .316 over a three-week period – his healthiest all year – until one last pop in his right wrist ended his season. As small as that sample size was (44 plate appearances), Alonso believes that's much closer to the hitter he is.

“That’s something I feel I can do on a regular basis,” Alonso said in September following his surgery. “If I’m healthy, if I don’t have anything going on with my hands, I can become the player I was for those three weeks – but on a 27-week period.”

OUTLOOK FOR 2015
Yet Alonso may not get that chance with the Padres.

The general manager that traded for Alonso is out of the picture, catcher Yasmani Grandal saw more and more innings at first base as Rene Rivera hit his way out of the backup role and the Padres have a half-dozen players they have to shift from the 60-day disabled list to the 40-man roster by Monday.

On top of that, considering Alonso’s track record, first base is an optimum position to upgrade should new general manager A.J. Preller dangle any of his starting pitchers on the trade market.

All of that makes Alonso a non-tender candidate as the offseason gets underway.

That said, he’s still just 27, a former first-round pick and shouldn’t get that much of a pay increase on last year’s $980,000 salary even in his first year arbitration eligibility.

Even if the Padres find an alternative option at first base, Alonso’s history across the diamond – he played third base until the likes of Ryan Braun forced him to move to first at the University of Miami – could afford him one more chance to leave his mark on the Padres’ offense.


(utsandiego.com)

By virtue of the trade that brought him to San Diego, Yonder Alonso was Josh Byrnes’ guy. How that relates to the beleaguered first baseman’s standing with the Padres is of no consequence to his long-term future even as A.J. Preller settles into his role as the club’s general manager.

That much Alonso is sure of.

“In the long-term, I’m a baseball player,” Alonso said Tuesday while taking a break from his rehab in Los Angeles. “I don’t deal with the business side of it, but I think we have really good people here, really good guys that make really good decisions (as far as) the guys that came in. They know the game, they know baseball and they know what I can bring.

“I have a track record and hopefully they know that. Hopefully I’ll be back. Right now, it’s a matter of going out there and getting healthy.”

On that front, Alonso – who could be a non-tender candidate as he enters his first year of arbitration – is making significant progress since undergoing season-ending surgery on a ruptured tendon in a right wrist.

In the procedure, doctors snipped off the end of a damaged tendon and anchored the rest of it to his bone. The tendon in question – which doesn’t serve any baseball-related functions, Alonso said – was originally damaged when a runaway pitch broke a bone in his right hand last year.

Injections had healed the tendon at different points well enough to swing a bat until the latest setback forced Alonso to look into a different course of action. The one he settled on comes with a five- to six-week rehab – instead of the original five-month prognosis.

“It’s funny because I got the surgery and four days later, the doctor took off the cast and said, ‘Alright, start moving it,’” Alonso said. “Next thing you know I’m moving it and it doesn’t hurt. When I got hurt, I couldn’t even pick up a hanger – that simple movement hurt (before).”

Not anymore.

Both Alonso and his doctors believe he’s well on his way to a 100 percent recovery. He expects to move through a normal offseason at the conclusion of his rehab with an eye on starting spring training at full strength.

Alonso, of course, thought he was on his way to full strength when he hit .421/.471/.737 in his first 15 games off the disabled list shortly after the all-star break. That production, Alonso said, is a glimpse of the hitter that the Padres can expect if Preller elects to bring him back for a fourth season in San Diego.

“In that three- to four-week period when I was really hitting well, I had no pain; I had nothing,” said Alonso, who raised his average from .210 to .240 over that period. “That’s something I feel I can do on a regular basis. If I’m healthy, if I don’t have anything going on with my hands, I can become the player I was for those three weeks – but on a 27-week period.

“You’ve got your ups and downs in baseball. My thing is just to continue on this path and continue to be as healthy as I can and go play baseball.”


(utsandiego.com)

Padres transferred 1B Yonder Alonso from the 15-day disabled list to the 60-day disabled list.

Alonso underwent season-ending surgery last week to repair a damaged tendon in his right forearm. The 27-year-old is expected to be recovered by mid-October. He'll be arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter.


(rotoworld.com)

Rather than try the rest-and-rehab route after being shut down for the season with what was initially called a “strained forearm,” Padres first baseman Yonder Alonso has opted for surgery to “re-attach a ruptured tendon to the bone.”

Woof.

Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union Tribune reports that the recovery timetable is expected to be 5-7 weeks, so he’ll have plenty of time to be ready for spring training.

Alonso is arbitration eligible for the first time this offseason coming off a career-worst season in which he hit just .240 with seven homers and a .682 OPS in 84 games. He’s yet to hit even 10 homers in a season, which obviously isn’t ideal at first base, but prior to this year Alonso was consistently an above-average hitter once you factor in the pitcher-friendly environment in San Diego. Presumably the Padres will stick with him for at least one more season.


(hardballtalk.com)

Yonder Alonso was placed on the 15-day disabled list Thursday with a right forearm strain and now Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that the first baseman has been ruled out for the rest of the 2014 season. Surgery might be coming.

Alonso, who also missed time in June and July because of right wrist issues, will finish 2014 with a disappointing .240/.285/.397 batting line and only seven home runs in 84 games. He earned National League Rookie of the Year votes in 2012 but hasn’t been able to build off that promising debut season in San Diego and the former first-round pick (seventh overall in 2008) turns 28 years old next spring. Alonso is going to be arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter.


(hardballtalk.com)

San Diego Padres 1B Yonder Alonso (wrist, forearm) suffered a right wrist/forearm injury Tuesday, Aug. 12, according to manager Bud Black. Alonso is expected to have to go back on the disabled list. He returned from the DL July 26 from a similar ailment and was hitting .421 (16-for-38) since returning. Alonso will have an MRI exam Wednesday, Aug. 13, after an MRI Tuesday showed a right forearm strain. He said he felt something "pop" while batting Tuesday. C Yasmani Grandal was starting at first base Wednesday, and Black said INFs Tommy Medica and Jacob Goebbert could also see time there.

Fantasy Tip: You can cut Alonso in most mixed leagues at this point. His wrist/forearm issue seems like it could be pretty serious, so his performance might be affected if he's able to return before the end of the season. Grandal probably benefits the most, with regular playing time at either catcher or first base throughout the end of the regular season.


(kffl.com)

SAN DIEGO -- First baseman Yonder Alonso left Tuesday's game against the Rockies with a right forearm strain, the team announced.

The Padres' first baseman was replaced on defense in the top of the fourth inning. Alonso walked in his only plate appearance and scored a run in the second inning.

Alonso returned from the disabled list on July 26 after missing 30 games with tendinitis in his right wrist. He was hitting .421 (16-for-38) since returning.

Alonso wasn't available for comment after the game as he was getting an MRI.

"That was a weird one," said Padres manager Bud Black. "He was standing right next to me and had a bat in his right hand. He did something with the bat that triggered some discomfort."

Black indicated that the pain was in the same area where Alonso has previously had issues this season.

The Padres moved Tommy Medica from left field to first base after Alonso left the game, and then sent third baseman Yangervis Solarte to left field. Chris Nelson came off the bench to play third base.


(padres.com)

Yonder Alonso went 3-for-4 with a home run in a loss to the Twins on Tuesday.

The Padres managed 12 hits against Twins pitching, but Alonso's solo home run in the fifth was the only run the team could muster. It was his first home run since being activated from the disabled list on July 26. Alonso also doubled in the game, and the three-hit effort was his first since May 30. It raised his season line to a meager .225/.267/.372.


(rotoworld.com)

ATLANTA (AP) - The San Diego Padres have activated first baseman Yonder Alonso from the 15-day disabled list.

Alonso is in the starting lineup for Saturday night's game against the Atlanta Braves.

Alonso has been on the disabled list since June 17 with right wrist tendinitis. He is hitting .210 with five homers and 22 RBIs.

Tommy Medica, who had a career-high four hits while starting at first base on Friday night, is starting in left field on Saturday night.

Rookie Jake Goebbert was optioned to Triple-A El Paso. Goebbert was hitting .250 with one homer and three RBIs in 22 games. Goebbert started nine games at first base and two games in left field since his contract was purchased from El Paso on June 19.


(knoxnews.com)

NEWS UPDATE
Alonso (wrist) could be activated from the DL by week's end, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

ROTOWIRE FANTASY ANALYSIS
After going 1-for-6 at Triple-A El Paso on Tuesday, Alonso is slashing a combined .294/.294/.471 with one homer, five RBI, and one run in 17 at-bats between the organization's top affiliate and the Arizona League Padres. He could be eased into action upon his return, but first base is his on a daily basis when completely healthy.


(rotowire.com)

Yonder Alonso has been sent to Triple-A El Paso to continue his rehab assignment.

Alonso, who went 3-for-8 with a homer in two games for the Rookie AZL Padres, has been on the shelf since mid-June due to right wrist tendinitis. He should return before the end of the month if all goes well.


(rotoworld.com)

NEWS UPDATE
Alonso (wrist) may shift his rehab to the Padres' minor league facility in Arizona this week, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

ROTOWIRE FANTASY ANALYSIS
Alonso is expected to start hitting in the near future, but no time line for his return to the majors has emerged since he landed on the disabled list on June 19. His absence has allowed Jake Goebbert and Tommy Medica to split time at first base.


(rotowire.com)

SAN DIEGO -- Two of the Padres' starting infielders are creeping closer to returning to the lineup.

Second baseman Jedd Gyorko, who's been on the disabled list since June 6 with plantar fasciitis, will likely resume hitting in the cage this weekend, according to manager Bud Black.

"Some soft toss, some tee work," Black said. "Probably no on-field activity for a couple days after, but he's getting closer."

Next week, first baseman Yonder Alonso will swing a bat for the first time since succumbing to right wrist tendinitis and heading to the DL on June 19. He won't return to the lineup until after the All-Star break and won't travel with the team when it finishes off the first half with trips to Colorado and Los Angeles next week.

"He'll work here and get treatment with our guys who stay back," Black said before Friday's series opener with the Giants at Petco Park. "But he's feeling better."

Tommy Medica and Jake Goebbert have shared time at first base in Alonso's absence. Since Alonso was placed on the DL, Medica has reached base in 11 of 12 games while Goebbert is batting .357 in 14 at-bats, albeit with no extra-base hits.


(rotoworld.com)

SAN DIEGO - First baseman Yonder Alonso spoke to the media for the first time Friday after being placed on the disabled list with right hand tendinitis.

After playing in every game since April 30, he had missed the team's games against Seattle on Tuesday and Wednesday before the move was made official Thursday.

"It's something I've been dealing with for a while," Alonso said. "I really can't tell you [how much], but it's been affecting me and I kept playing with it."

On Friday, he was wearing a small protective cast on his hand, which he also injured last year. He estimated he likely wouldn't resume hitting in the cage for at least a week.

"Just for right now, just to calm down I want to rest it as much as possible so I can come back strong," Alonso said.

Alonso is hitting .210 with five home runs, 15 doubles and 22 RBIs in 229 at-bats this season. While he's out, newly called up Jake Goebbert and Tommy Medica are expected to split time at first base.

San Diego manager Bud Black said the lefty-hitting Goebbert will make his big league starting debut on Saturday or Sunday against the Dodgers.


(mlb.com)

NEWS UPDATE
Alonso is out of the lineup Wednesday with a hand injury and is considered a DL candidate, Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

ROTOWIRE FANTASY ANALYSIS
Alonso was left out of the Padres' lineup again Wednesday, and it was later revealed that a hand injury is to blame. According to the report, the ailment is more than a day-to-day issue, and if Alonso indeed ends up on the DL, Yasmani Grandal and Tommy Medica will likely be tasked with splitting duties at first base.


(rotowire.com)

PHILADELPHIA -- Yonder Alonso's .210 batting average entering Tuesday's series opener against the Phillies doesn't tell the whole story.

The Padres' first baseman had several stints on the interstate early in the season and was hitting as low as .157 on May 8. But, Alonso has fared better from the batter's box since. Over his last 27 games, he hit .278 (25-for-90) with five homers and 14 RBIs.

Alonso went the first month and a half of the season without a homer, but Padres manager Bud Black thinks Alonso's getting on base is more indicative that he's turning things around than the recent power surge.

"I think last year, with the wrist problem, it had something to do with his power. And he missed a lot of games last year," Black said. "And I don't think anybody thought of Yonder, even out of the Draft, as a pure home run hitter. But he's got power to hit home runs. Yonder is more of a gap-to-gap, line-drive hitter. He gets into trouble when he tries to hit homers, and when he tries to pull the ball.

Alonso's also done well of late when he has come to the plate with runners in scoring position. In his previous 26 games, he hit .294 (5-for-17) in those situations.

"I would prefer line drive to left-center, line drive to right-center, line drives all over the park with a sprinkled in homer," Black said.


(mlb.com)

SAN DIEGO -- Not long ago, Yonder Alonso had gone nearly a full year without hitting a home run. By the time he crossed home plate on Saturday night, after rescuing the Padres with a tying two-out bomb in the bottom of the ninth, that homerless streak seemed like a long time ago.

"When I went up to bat I just wanted to get on base and see what happened," Alonso said. "It was one of those things where we have to come back."

San Diego's first baseman hadn't recorded a four-bagger from May 20, 2013, until the second game of a doubleheader on May 15. But since then, he's been making up for lost time and helped carry a Padres team that has floundered offensively.

"People are going to opinionate and have their numbers and stats and say I haven't hit a homer in this long or that long," Alonso said. "They don't necessarily understand all the things that are going on. For me, it's just making sure I put the ball in play."

In his last 21 games, he's hitting .287 with five homers and 13 RBIs.

"The [homers] are coming now, and that's fun," Alonso said. "[But] you don't necessarily have to hit a homer to win a game. You can make two or three diving stops on defense that saves two runs, and we win a ballgame 2-1. That's just as important as a homer."

That might be true, but if Alonso can help spark a streak of clutch hitting for the majors' worst offense, Padres fans would probably be just as happy.


(padres.com)

CHICAGO -- On Friday, Yonder Alonso hit a two-run home run against the White Sox. On Saturday, he just about did the same thing, flying out to the warning track in right field in the eighth inning.

"I'm evolving a bit as a hitter," Alonso said. "Maybe some of those line drives are going out of the park."

Alonso has hit two home runs on this road trip and has three in his last nine games. He knows his game is still using all field and hitting doubles -- he had 39 of them in 2012.

At this point, Alonso is just happy to see some of his hits find anything but gloves. After a slow start, he believes he has found something -- something successful -- with his swing.

Alonso, who is hitting .211, has eight multi-hit performances during this 21-game stretch after he had two such games during his first 35 games this season.

"I think it was just a matter of time … and I was saying that in April," Alonso said. "It was just a matter of time before things got better. I kept hitting balls right at people. I just had to stay with it and trust what I was doing.

"I know the type of hitter I am. I know the player I'm going to be. I've always heard that if you're a good hitter, you're going to hit balls right at people."


(padres.com)

CHICAGO -- If you ask Padres' first baseman Yonder Alonso about his golf game, don't expect him to brag or boast of a better game than he actually has.

"It's terrible," he said, flatly.

So in that sense, Alonso's inaugural Celebrity Golf Classic at the Barona Creek Golf Course might be very interesting to watch, as Alonso and several of his Padres teammate putt and chip for a good cause.

Benefits from the event will support the Ramona branch of the Boys & Girls Club of San Diego. Alonso will also hold the Boys and Girls Club close to his heart, as he essentially grew up playing sports at the Boys & Girls Club of Dade County in Miami.

"I grew up at the boys and girls club so it's easy for me to hang out for a few hours with the kids," Alonso said.

Several current Padres and a handful of former players and other local celebrities will participate in the event, including Rene Rivera, Joaquin Benoit, Donn Roach and Nick Vincent.

For more information on the event, see http://www.sdyouth.org/Playgolfwithyonder.aspx.


(padres.com)

Yonder Alonso went 2-for-4 with a double and a solo home run in Monday's loss to the Diamondbacks.

In 11 games since May 15, Alonso has three homers and four multi-hit games. Owners in NL-only formats will want to start monitoring the first baseman's progress, though it's going to take more than moderate success over two weeks to win back our hearts. Despite the step forward, Alonso is still slashing just .206/.249/.329 with three total round-trippers and 14 RBI over 170 at-bats.


(rotoworld.com)

SAN DIEGO -- Spinning the lineup like a combination lock, looking for something to key a group that has not produced much, Padres manager Bud Black slotted first baseman Yonder Alonso as the cleanup hitter Wednesday night.

It was only the sixth appearance in the four-hole this season for Alonso, who has one home run this season. That came last Thursday in the second game of a doubleheader at Cincinnati. Before that, Alonso had not homered since last May 19.

"You know, just looking at the middle of our order and trying to get the right combinations in there," manager Bud Black said. "He had a couple of good swings [Tuesday] night. "Until the two, three and four guys start doing their thing and you can make a case for where guys should be in the lineup, really, the only guy you can make a consistent case for has been Smitty [Seth Smith]."

Smith was in the two-hole Wednesday, just his seventh appearance there this season.


(mlb.com)

Yonder Alonso went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI in the second game of Thursday's doubleheader against the Reds.

Alonso had an RBI single in the sixth inning and later added a solo home run in the eighth. The home run was his first of the year. The 27-year-old is still batting .200/.238/.289 on the year, but at least we are seeing some signs of life. He has four multi-hit games in his last six.


(rotoworld.com)

Yonder Alonso reached all five times he was up Saturday, going 3-for-3 with an RBI and two walks.
Alonso also had a couple of doubles last night. Prior to that, he was hitting a disgusting .157/.183/.217 in 115 at-bats for the season. If not for the fact that he was out of options, he might have already been sent down to find his swing in Triple-A. Now that he's found it anyway, the Padres will probably stop giving him as many days off as they had been of late.


(rotworld.com)

Charity golf tournaments are like free gum in the clubhouse for major league baseball players. They can usually take their pick.

Organizations salivate to have a ballplayer support their cause. In the case of Padres first baseman Yonder Alonso, his choice was a no-brainer.

Alonso will host the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego Celebrity Golf Classic on Thursday, June 5, at Barona Creek Golf Club. The event will be another in a string of fund-raisers that Alonso has supported for an organization that touched him personally.

When he was 10, Alonso’s family moved to Miami from Cuba, and at the Boys & Girls Club he made friends and was inspired by the visits of numerous major leaguers, including Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez.

Seventeen years later, Alonso is in his third season with the Padres, the starting first baseman hoping to inspire kids the way his predecessors did.

In December, Alonso, 27, hosted a tour of Petco Park for kids from the 4S Ranch branch of the Boys & Girls Club and recalled for the Padres’ website, “It definitely brought back memories to my days growing up, and it gave me an understanding of what it takes not only to be a role model but to really understand that you can do a lot and give a lot.”

His first golf tournament for the Boys & Girls Club will benefit the Ramona branch, only a few miles from Barona Creek.

Registration and partnership opportunities for the tournament are still available. The cost for a foursome is $1,000, with individual spots going for $300. For more information, visit playgolfwithyonderalonso.com or call (858) 866-0591, ext. 208.


(utsandiego.com)

Yonder Alonso played an inning at third base after coming off the bench Thursday against the Rockies.

It was Alonso's third career appearance at third; he played a full game there for the Reds in 2011 and also part of an inning there for the Padres last year. This gives him some extra eligibility and value in some fantasy leagues.


(rotoworld.com)

SAN DIEGO -- With Chase Headley nursing a mild strain of his right biceps, and with the Padres short on options at third base, first baseman Yonder Alonso crossed the diamond during batting practice prior to the game Wednesday against the Rockies.

Alonso took ground balls three hours before the game under the watchful eye of manager Bud Black and others.

Consider it insurance in case the team gets in a bind and needs someone to man the hot corner in a pinch.

"We've got a third baseman who is day to day with a biceps strain, and if something happens tonight, we might need someone to go over there," Black said. "[Alonso] has got good hands and a good arm. We're going to look at it a little."

Alonso has appeared in two games at third base during his Major League career -- with the Reds in 2011 and once with the Padres last season.

Alonso isn't a complete stranger to the position. He played it a lot as a youth and moved over to first base at the University of Miami because Ryan Braun played third base.


(mlb.com)

The Opening Weekend series between the Miami Marlins and the San Diego Padres was a homecoming for the Padres' Miami duo Yonder Alonso and Yasmani Grandal.

The two shares plenty of similarities. They were born in Cuba, raised in Miami and were teammates at the University of Miami during the year the Hurricanes won their first ever ACC Tournament Championship in 2008.

Then they got drafted by the same team. The Cincinnati Reds selected Alonso in the 2008 MLB Draft and Grandal in 2010. They were part of the same trade package that was used to bring ace pitcher Matt Latos to Cincinnati.

At least once every year, the Cuban duo returns home to Miami to see their families and play the Marlins who they grew up watching.

"It means a lot," Alonso said. "You really get a sense of having your family and friends here. So it's very special to me."

There is an inner fraternity that comes with playing baseball in Miami. Not just for the Hurricanes, but even in high school. Alonso said that he keeps in touch with fellow Canes like Cardinals outfielder Jon Jay, Dodgers reliever Chris Perez and even local high school stars like Nick Castellano who won the state championship with two different South Florida schools.

"All the guys in South Florida have a special bond," Alonso said.

There are two types of Cuban big leaguers: those who defect and immediately start their baseball career and those who make it to the States in their childhood and go through the assimilation processes through high school and college. This is where people see the difference between Yasiel Puig and Yonder Alonso.

The love of the game is still the same," he said. "They way they play, the fire of the game is still the same because in South Florida, they play just like how they do in Cuba. If anything they show their emotions a little bit more and as players, we're taught to never show your opponents emotions."

The handling of a newfound fortune is also a major difference between the two Cubans.

"I've talked to people in their mid-twenties and teams give them 3-4 million dollars and all they can think of is how to spend it all," Yasmani Grandal said. "The guys who have lived here take that money and think about how invest in it and make more money."

Unfortunately for them, they lost the series to the Marlins and now have to go from one extreme (Miami) to the other (Cleveland). That being said, they can only hope that they can reach the playoffs and the Marlins meet them there.


(examiner.com)

SAN DIEGO -- Ryan Raburn and Asdrubal Cabrera each knocked in four runs on Friday as the Indians scored a combined 14 runs over the first two innings en route to a 16-4 drubbing of the Padres at Fowler Park on the campus of the University of San Diego.

"You get in a ballpark like this where the ball is traveling and the infield's fast, [and that can happen]," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "It's a good night, because with a quick turnaround tomorrow, and then the day off Sunday, I wanted our guys to get some at-bats, but I really didn't want to keep them out there. That was probably the perfect [way to do it]."

The Indians got home runs from Yan Gomes, Carlos Santana and Cabrera, and pitcher Zach McAllister -- who is the No. 3 starter in the rotation -- allowed two runs over four innings.

"I thought it was a tough game to pitch, first of all, because he's sitting so long," Francona said of McAllister. "He was at like 90 pitches for four innings tonight. It was a little bit of a struggle just to not have so many deep counts. I think he's throwing the ball fine. He's just got to sharpen up on things and stay away from the longer innings."

The Indians jumped on Padres starting pitcher Matt Wisler for seven runs in the first inning, as the first seven batters in the inning reached base. Cleveland then added seven more runs in the second inning off reliever Blaine Boyer.

Wisler, ranked as the No. 3 prospect in the Padres' system by MLB.com, allowed seven runs on four hits with two walks in one inning. He'll begin the season at Triple-A El Paso.

"He was off. He just couldn't regroup at all," Padres manager Bud Black said of Wisler. "It's a great learning experience for him, a good test for him. Hopefully, he'll learn from it."

McAllister fared much better, allowing three hits with six strikeouts.

The Padres got on the board when Yonder Alonso slugged a solo home run out to right field in the second inning. Yasmani Grandal knocked in a run with a single in the fourth inning.

Alonso went 2-for-2.

Gomes, Rayburn and Cabrera each finished with three hits.


(mlb.com)

Yonder Alonso went 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored as the Padres defeated the Royals 9-5 on Wednesday.

All three hits were singles. The effort boosted his average up to .426 in 47 at-bats. Alonso doesn't hit for the power typical of most first basemen, but does slightly better in the average and on-base departments, which helps him maintain value in fantasy leagues.


(rotoworld.com)

Yonder Alonso smashed his second homer of the Cactus League season in a losing effort against the Royals on Sunday.

The 27-year-old finished the afternoon 2-for-5 with a pair of runs scored. He's off to a strong start in Cactus League play, hitting .343 (12-for-35). Hitting in the middle of the Padres lineup, he has sneaky value in deeper mixed fantasy leagues.


(rotoworld.com)

Yonder Alonso doubled twice in three at-bats as the Padres were shut out 8-0 by the Brewers.

Alonso brought his average up to .333 in 27 Cactus League at-bats. Four of his nine hits have gone for extra bases. Nevertheless, Alonso shouldn't be expected to post lofty power numbers as he carries a sub-.400 slugging percentage in 1,121 career plate appearances.


(rotoworld.com)

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Yonder Alonso has been through quite the voyage of self-discovery since the Cincinnati Reds selected him out of the University of Miami with the seventh overall pick in the 2008 draft.

In December 2011, the Reds sent Alonso and three other players to San Diego in a trade for starting pitcher Mat Latos. The following year, Alonso banged out 39 doubles to finish sixth in National League Rookie of the Year balloting. But just when he appeared to be building on that debut season, his luck turned south. He suffered a broken right hand on a pitch from Toronto's Aaron Loup last May, and was never the same before shutting it down for good at the end of August.

After a winter of rehab and working out back home in Miami with Manny Machado and Jon Jay, his former college teammate, Alonso is ready to reassert himself. His hand has healed, and he thinks he learned something about himself from the adjustments he had to make to compensate for his injury.

"I think I matured a little bit as a hitter, just knowing what I could and couldn't do," Alonso said. "It made me a better player in that respect."

The Padres increased their home run output from 121 to 146 last year after moving in the outfield fences at Petco Park. At the same time, their overall run production declined from 651 to 618. Positive contributions from outfielder Will Venable and rookie second baseman Jedd Gyorko couldn't offset Chase Headley's statistical dropoff and extended injury absences from Cameron Maybin, Everth Cabrera, Yasmani Grandal, Carlos Quentin and Alonso.

While Maybin is expected to miss two to three months with a torn biceps tendon and Headley is still recovering from a strained calf, Alonso is getting into the swing of things in the Cactus League. He pulled a monster home run to right field off Arizona's Randall Delgado at Peoria Stadium on Tuesday, showing a glimpse of what he's capable of when he catches a ball just right. But Alonso has a total of 20 career homers in 1,000 big league at-bats, so the Padres are under no illusions that he'll ever be a classic corner infield bopper.

"He's got good bat-to-ball skills," said Padres manager Bud Black. "He's got the ability to hit the ball over the fence and get it in the gaps and be a productive member of the lineup. If he hits 10-15 homers, that's fine as long as he gets his RBIs and scores his runs. We're looking for him to take a step forward."


(espn.com)

PEORIA, Ariz. -- After a promising rookie season in 2012, Padres first baseman Yonder Alonso essentially fell off the radar a year ago, the victim of a fractured right hand in May that never really healed until the season was over.

Alonso doesn't blame fans in the least if they've forgotten about him.

"To the fans, I don't blame them," Alonso said. "I was gone for something like half the year, really. It was a frustrating season for me."

That might be putting it mildly.

Coming off a rookie season in which he clubbed 39 doubles, Alonso appeared well on his way to a strong second season with the Padres, hitting .284 with six home runs in his first 190 at-bats of the '13 season before a May 31 game against the Blue Jays at Petco Park.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, Blue Jays reliever Aaron Loup hit Alonso with a pitch atop his right hand. He left with a fractured metacarpal bone and missed the next 34 games.

"That was really unfortunate for him, because he was starting to get it," said Padres manager Bud Black. "I think we all felt there was room for offensive improvement, and he was showing that."

The 26-year-old returned on July 12, but it was evident to him that he hadn't fully regained the strength in the hand. Then, on Aug. 30, Alonso injured the hand again while trying to check his swing. As it turned out, that would be his last plate appearance of the season. After hitting six home runs early, he didn't have any after he returned.

That's not to say he didn't push himself to get back on the field -- even if hand wasn't anywhere near full strength.

"There was a sense of urgency for me to get my health in place," Alonso said. "But I was good enough to play. The season takes a toll on you, and it ended up being something I couldn't handle. I competed. Was I 100 percent? No way. I felt I still needed to go out and play."

This spring, Alonso is determined to not just make up for lost time, but to continue his development as a hitter. Or, in his words, become a "smarter hitter."

"I think I became a smarter hitter during my injury. I had to really focus on my plan and my approach. I became a better hitter with my hand and my eyes," he said. "Now, I'm doing to drive the ball into the gaps, make the pitcher work and see a lot of pitches. If I do that, I'm doing my job."

Hitting coach Phil Plantier has seen Alonso make inroads with his swing. The next part, of course, is the mental side of hitting, an evolving process that is truly at-bat to at-bat.

"Part of that maturity process is not giving at-bats away; having a plan at the plate, being consistent and knowing what he wants to do before he gets in the box," Plantier said. "I think he understands that his next step is being more consistent in terms of putting his plan to work. And he needs to be stubborn with it."

Alonso continues to be asked about power and where that fits in his game. The most home runs he had during a single season were 15 in 2010 while in the Reds' system. He had nine in the big leagues during his first season with the Padres and was well on his way to surpassing that when he got hurt in 2013.

"We don't need for Yonder to hit 30 home runs for us to be a better ballclub," Plantier said. "I think we just need him to be himself; be a good hitter first, have that doubles mentality and let the power come naturally. He's got to be a consistent force somewhere in the middle of the lineup for us."

That said, Alonso thinks there's more power in his game than he's shown.

"You need to be realistic with yourself," Alonso said. "I have power, plenty of it. [Home runs] are going to come. It will be fine."


(mlb.com)

PEORIA, Ariz. — Power will come in time.

At least, that is what they say, although Yonder Alonso looked like he might trump one of those axioms that hitting coaches hold so dear last year.

Eighteen homers and 87 RBIs? At Petco Park?

The numbers that Alonso was tracking in his second full season certainly fit the bill of a middle-of-the-order first baseman. Then he took a pitch off his right hand at the end of May, missed a month with a broken metacarpal bone and never really recovered the hand strength he needed to punish “his” pitches upon his return.

“It’s like, your hand was very soft, very weak; it felt like you just had tissue there,” Alonso said. “There was no muscle tone in your hands. There was no quickness. You couldn’t control the bat or the barrel with your hand. I knew I couldn’t swing at certain pitches because I was hurt or because I knew I wasn’t quick enough.

“But believe it or not, I became a better hitter because of it.”

The book is still out on that.

One thing’s for certain, though: Alonso has arrived at the Peoria Sports Complex ready to take the next step in his career.

The hand, he said, is 100 percent healthy after an offseason of rest and work with a specialist and Alonso is in camp fitter and trimmer than ever before, thanks in large part to a small army that includes a personal chef, masseuse, yoga instructor and various physical therapists and trainers.

Whether or not that translates into developing into a masher in the middle of a lineup is beside the point, he said, so long as the Padres find a way to contend.
“I really don’t put that pressure on me to hit home runs,” Alonso said. “At the end of the day, you’re trying to be the best you can be. The sport is not all about home runs. You have to do many other things other than home runs to be a good teammate, a good player, and for me, home runs is just one big number.”
Just not one big number for Alonso – yet.

The 26-year-old Cuban never hit more than a 15 homers during a minor league season and topped out at nine the one year he played a full season in the majors, although half of those games were played in cavernous Petco Park in 2012.

But a career .840 OPS in the minors reveals a hitter who takes his walks and drives the ball, over the wall or not, and the Padres were beginning to see a semblance of that player materialize in San Diego.

He set the franchise’s rookie record with 39 doubles in 2012 upon joining the team as part of the five-player trade that set Mat Latos to Cincinnati and pushed his on-base percentage 75 points higher than his respectable .273 average.

Only the next step – Alonso had nearly as many homers (six) as doubles (seven) when he first injured his hand – didn’t go as planned after a fast start to 2013. Even after resting his hand for a month, Alonso watched his slugging percentage plummet from .416 to .306 after breaking his hand before the Padres ultimately shut him down in September.


(utsandiego.com)

Padres manager Bud Black did hit on a few topics today in his daily talk with the media.

For Yonder Alonso, Black agreed with a question that he could see 20 home runs come off of his bat this season. He didn’t give an exact number, but said “somewhere in and around there, I don’t want to put a number on it, but sure”. Alonso has only hit 15 home runs in two seasons with the Padres. He had nine playing a full season in 2012 and with the other six coming in his injury-plagued 2013 season.


(utsandiego.com)

NEWS UPDATE
Alonso will enter spring training next Tuesday, Feb. 18, with a fully healed right hand, MLB.com reports.

ROTOWIRE FANTASY ANALYSIS
Alonso was hit by a pitch on May 31 last season, which forced a lengthy stay on the DL and afflicted him for the remainder of the year, including no plate appearances after Aug. 30. The offseason has provided more than enough time for a full recovery from the fracture in his right hand, and he'll attempt to play just the second full campaign of his career in 2014. If he returns to his 2012 form, when he belted 39 doubles and nine long balls in 549 at-bats, Alonso will be of value in the majority of formats.


(rotowire.com)

Yonder Alonso is swinging a bat again. Finally.

That much was clear Wednesday afternoon as the Padres’ first baseman hosted more than two dozen kids from a local branch of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater San Diego at Petco Park.

The 26-year-old Alonso treated the 4S Ranch children to lunch, a tour of the Padres’ clubhouse and led them through drills on the field and in the indoor batting cage. There, he demonstrated a smooth-left-handed swing that’s without pain for the first time since re-injuring his right hand on a checked swing in late August.

“It feels great,” Alonso said afterward. “I’m 100 percent. I’m healthy. I’m looking forward to getting started. I’m going to start doing my hitting stuff soon. … I’m getting ready for spring training.”

Alonso was on pace for 18 homers and 87 RBIs through the first third of the season when a pitch struck him on the right hand, breaking a metacarpal bone and sapping much of his hand strength upon returning to the lineup after missing more than a month of action. The second injury to the hand on Aug. 30 limited Alonso to a pair of pinch-runner appearances the last weekend of the season in San Francisco after trainers had ruled out swinging a bat for the rest of the season.

“I had a lot of tendon issues going on in there,” said Alonso, who slashed .281/.341/.368 over 97 games in 2013. “There was a lot of liquid. It was more about the time and getting it calm. I just didn’t have enough time (to return).”

Time, of course, is now on Alonso’s side.

Cleared to swing a bat again, Alonso said he is expected to ramp up baseball activities soon ahead of reporting for Spring Training in February when he’ll get acquainted with a few new teammates. He learned of the latest addition – Oakland outfielder Seth Smith in exchange for reliever Luke Gregerson – while attending the Major League Baseball’s Players Association meetings Tuesday in La Jolla with teammate Nick Hundley.

The move caught both off-guard, Alonso said.

“We were just as surprised as everyone,” Alonso said. “It’s really out of our control. Those things we can’t control. Our main priority is to be ready for February reporting dates. … That’s our main concern – making sure we’re healthy and ready for the San Diego Padres and being a competitive team.”

Alonso, at the very least, appears to be on that track.


(utsandiego.com)

SAN DIEGO -- Padres first baseman Yonder Alonso, who hasn't played since Aug. 30 because of soreness in his right hand, won't likely appear in a game as a hitter the rest of the season.

San Diego manager Bud Black said Sunday that Alonso will in all likelihood not swing a bat again during a game, though he could appear on defense.

"The hitting component for Yonder this week is out," Black said. "But we hope at some point this week that he can play [defense]."

Alonso wasn't quite ready to concede, though.

"I want to play, if not ... I wouldn't be doing all of this stuff," Alonso said. "But I've got to understand it's a process."

Alonso fractured a bone in his hand in late May and missed 34 games. He hit .284 with six home runs, 29 RBIs and seven doubles in 190 at-bats prior to that injury but said his hand hasn't felt fully healthy since, during which time he has hit .278 with four doubles and 16 RBIs.

Alonso received a cortisone shot in his hand during a visit with a hand specialist on Saturday.

"We're still trying to calm it down," he said.


(mlb.com)

Yonder Alonso hasn’t played since August 30 because of a hand injury and it sounds like the Padres first baseman is ready to give up the comeback attempt.

Bill Center of the San Diego Union Tribune reports that Alonso felt pain in his hand while taking batting practice Monday and admitted afterward: “It might not work out this season.”

So his disappointing second season with the Padres may end after 95 games, during which he hit just .281 with  six homers and a .710 OPS. That’s a 30-point drop from his OPS last season despite the fences at Petco Park moving in, which isn’t how things were supposed to go.

Alonso will be 27 years old next season and has a .395 career slugging percentage in 1,121 plate appearances as a big leaguer. Some of that is due to calling a pitcher-friendly ballpark home, but either way 2014 could be a make-or-break season for him in San Diego.


(hardballtalk.com)

PHILADELPHIA -- First baseman Yonder Alonso, who hasn't played since Aug. 30 due to soreness in his right hand, has been cleared to play defense and will likely hit in the cage this weekend when the team heads to Atlanta for a series with the Braves.

"I've been throwing the past couple of days and it's still a little sore," Alonso said.

Alonso missed 34 games earlier this season with a fractured metacarpal bone in his hand. He returned from the disabled list on July 12, but the strength in his hand wasn't the same as it was earlier this year when he hit .284 with six home runs in his first 190 at-bats.

After returning from the disabled list in July, Alonso hit .278 with no home runs and four doubles and said he wasn't able to do the same things with his swing that he could before the initial injury.

"Yonder is doing great, he's going to be able to play defense," said Padres manager Bud Black. "We're comfortable with him throwing and are comfortable with him if he has to dive. There's motivation for Yonder to get back on the field."

He's running out of time. After Thursday's series finale against the Phillies, the Padres have only 17 games left in the regular season.

"I'm optimistic about it [returning]. But it's just a matter of time for this thing to heal," said Alonso, who noted that he'll likely have a grip-strength test when the team returns to Petco Park on Monday.

The Padres have used Kyle Blanks at first base, though rookie Tommy Medica -- who hit a home run on Wednesday for his first Major League hit -- got the start there again on Thursday.


(mlb.com)

Padres manager Bud Black said there is no specific cut-off date for 1B Yonder Alonso to ramp up baseball activity for him to return to the lineup this season, although Black said Alonso might return defensively before he’s able to contribute at the plate.

Alonso added that hand strength continues to be an issue for the right hand he injured during a check swing Aug. 30.

On a scale of 1-to-140, Alonso said his left hand registered a 125 and his right hand an 85.

“I’d like to be back; I’d like to be 100 percent,” Alonso said. “That being said, I don’t want to come back hurting. I want to be careful.”

Also on the injury front, OF Carlos Quentin was in the clubhouse before Friday's game -- three days after undergoing surgery on his right knee.

"Carlos is in a good frame of mind," Black said. "Nobody likes to have surgery, but I think there is some clarity, and a little bit of Carlos’ mind is at ease knowing what was causing the pain hopefully was taken care of surgically to a certain extent, and he can move forward in his rehab process and be a big part of our team next year."


(utsandiego.com)

Yonder Alonso was given a pain-killing injection in his injured right hand on Wednesday.
Alonso suffered the hand injury last Friday on a check swing. The 26-year-old first baseman is not expected to be available for live action again for another two weeks and can be dropped in standard fantasy leagues.


(rotoworld.com)

SAN DIEGO -- First baseman Yonder Alonso had an MRI on his sore right hand Tuesday that revealed fluid in and between the joints in the hand.

"That's what's causing it to hurt," Alonso said.

Alonso was scheduled to have a cortisone shot in the hand later Tuesday, but at this point he's been told the only thing he can do for the hand is rest it.

"We're working through a couple of scenarios where we'll give it rest with the hope that I will be able to come back sooner than later," he said.

The good news was that no surgery is expected on the hand, which caused him to miss 34 games earlier this season. He said that even after returning from the disabled list, the strength in his hand wasn't the same as it was earlier in the season.

The initial diagnosis was that Alonso would miss between seven and 10 days, but it now appears that he will miss more time than that.

"He could be back in a couple of weeks," said Padres manager Bud Black. "He wants to get back and play again, which is great."

Alonso said there's no sense in him rushing back, especially since there's just 24 games remaining in the regular season after Tuesday.

"I'm not even 90 percent now, so what's the point in coming back before I'm healthy?" he said.

Alonso said his hand hasn't felt fully healthy since before his previous injury. He hit .284 with six home runs, 29 RBIs and seven doubles in 190 at-bats before that first injury. Since then, he's hitting .278 with four doubles and 16 RBIs.


(mlb.com)

Yonder Alonso can’t remember having a season like this one.

Through his first 83 games, there had been five calls sure to infuriate any first baseman.

Five times an umpire had ruled Alonso had come off the bag while fielding a throw. Five times an opposing player had eked his way onto first.

The latest head-scratcher arrived Thursday in the fourth inning of the Padres’ 4-1 loss to the Mets. With two outs and Daniel Murphy at second, New York’s Josh Satin hit a routine grounder to short.

Less than routine was the ensuing call. First-base umpire Brian Knight determined that Alonso pulled his foot off the bag while receiving the throw, giving Satin an infield single and allowing Murphy to score from second for a 1-0 lead. Video replays suggested Alonso had successfully kept his foot on the bag.

“It’s kinda weird because I don’t know what they see,” Alonso said Friday. “It’s never happened to me, so it’s just kinda weird.”

Padres manager Bud Black offered an explanation for Alonso’s missteps around first base this season, real or imagined.

“At times it looks he stretches too early, then has an off-balance look on his stretch, when in effect he’s not off balance,” Black said. “But it looks funky. It can look like he comes off the bag to the umpires.”

Black added that Alonso’s fielding technique in this regard might warrant a look from the Padres.

It should be noted that, in terms of overall defense, the first baseman has been among the league’s most reliable this season. Entering Friday, Alonso had committed just two errors. He had a .997 fielding percentage in 665 2/3 innings.

And, of course, those five head-scratchers.

“Next year it won’t happen. Instant replay,” Alonso said wryly, referring to Major League Baseball’s announcement Thursday of its plans for expanded instant replay in 2014.


(utsandiego.com)

DENVER -- Since returning from the disabled list in July, Padres first baseman Yonder Alonso was hitting .315 in 89 at-bats entering Monday. Twenty-six of 28 hits during that time were singles.

Alonso missed 34 games with a fractured bone in his right hand, which put the brakes on a fast start that saw him hit .284 with seven doubles and six home runs.

Although Alonso's average was up in the month since he came back from the hand injury, he had just two extra-base hits in those 89 at-bats, both doubles.
Not that he has noticed much.

"I don't really worry about that," Alonso said before Monday's game against the Rockies. "My season is going to be what my season is going to be.

"My goal is to get on base and drive guys in. As long as I have good at-bats, that's the way it goes. My goal would be to drive in more [runs], but sometimes you can't think about the numbers. I'm hitting balls hard."

Alonso had two hits Sunday against the Reds and had a .353 average in his last 13 games. Over his 21 games since the All-Star break, he was hitting .350, which is the 14th-best mark in the league over that stretch.

A year ago, Alonso finished tied for eighth in the league with 39 doubles. This season, he had nine over 279 at-bats entering Monday. He was hitting .294, up from the .273 overall mark he had in 2012.

"I think guys are pitching me a lot different, too, not giving in as much as they were earlier in the year," Alonso said. "But I think that for me, it's using the whole field and go from there. If I do that, I'll be fine."


(mlb.com)

MILWAUKEE -- Yonder Alonso missed 34 games with a broken bone in his right hand, returning to play three games before the All-Star break.

At that point, the Padres first baseman was faced with a choice: Fly back to his hometown of Miami to see friends and family, or stay in San Diego with hopes of finding the swing that served him well before the injury.

In the end, Alonso remained in San Diego, working out daily during the All-Star break while many of his teammates were getting a little rest and relaxation before the second half.

"For me, it was about getting a lot of repetitions with my swing, which is why I didn't go home," Alonso said. "It was hard to miss a month and a week. But I worked every day on my swing.

"The way I looked at it, I owe that much to my teammates."

Alonso said working on his swing during the break allowed him to come out swinging a hot bat in the second half. He reached base four times on Tuesday and -- in a small sample size -- had a .381 average and a .458 on-base percentage in the first six games of the second half.

"I'm making progress right now, and I feel we're heading in the right direction," Alonso said of his swing.

Alonso was hitting .284 with six home runs and 29 RBIs in 190 at-bats before he suffered a break on top of his hand when he was hit by a pitch by Aaron Loup of the Blue Jays on May 31.


(mlb.com)

San Diego Padres manager Bud Black said there's a good chance 1B Yonder Alonso (hand) will return to the big club Friday, July 12.

Fantasy Tip: This'll mean a drop in playing time for Kyle Blanks, who's been cold lately. Jesus Guzman will probably stick on roster instead.


(kffl.com)

Yonder Alonso (hand) went 0-for-3 on Monday in his first minor league rehab game with Triple-A Tucson.

Alonso, out since the end of May with a broken bone in his right hand, played six innings in his return to game action. He'll play again Tuesday before being reevaluated, but Padres manager Bud Black said he could be activated prior to the All-Star break.

(rotoworld.com)

San Diego Padres 1B Yonder Alonso (hand) has been taking batting practice and working on fielding with Triple-A Tucson but is still a day or two days away from playing in a rehab game. The original plan was for Alonso to play for Tucson Wednesday, July 10, and Thursday, July 11, but he would like to push up the timetable a day or two. Alonso would be reevaluated and could rejoin the Padres for their weekend series if the team sticks with its original plan.


(kffl.com)

The Padres are hopeful that Yonder Alonso (hand) will be cleared to begin hitting in the batting cage soon.

Alonso had a CT scan Monday to check the healing of his fractured right hand, but the results of the exam aren't yet known. If the scan does show sufficient healing, the first baseman will be allowed to begin hitting. Alonso has been sidelined since June 6.


(rotoworld.com)

MIAMI -- Injured first baseman Yonder Alonso is getting closer to returning to the field. He has been on the 15-day disabled list since June 6 with a fractured bone in his right hand.

Alonso was hit by a pitch in the seventh inning of a 4-3 loss to the Blue Jays on May 31.

"He's getting closer to doing full baseball activities," Padres manager Bud Black said. "By that, I mean grounders, throwing, hitting in the cage, hitting off a live arm. Not the soft toss or the tee work."

Before Alonso could rejoin San Diego's lineup, Black said the first baseman needed to get his hand strength back, face live pitching and play in at least five games.

Alonso is not with the Padres on their road trip. However, once the 26-year-old resumes baseball activities, Black wants him back with the club before beginning a rehab assignment.

"I'd like to get him here," Black said. "If he's hitting, I'd like him to hit with us."


(mlb.com)

Yonder Alonso (hand) isn't expected to be activated from the disabled list until the second week of July.

Alonso hasn't been cleared for baseball activities yet and will need to go out on a rehab assignment before returning. It sounds like he'll be back just before the All-Star break, but the Padres could decide to play it safe and go ahead and rest him through the break.


(rotoworld.com)

SAN DIEGO -- Yonder Alonso is moving closer to returning from the disabled list after seeing a specialist on Monday.

The first baseman received scans and X-rays, and they showed that the bone in his right hand seems to be healing fine. Alonso could have the splint removed from his hand by the end of the week.

Alonso has been on the disabled list since June 1 with a right hand contusion suffered when he was hit by a pitch there on May 31. The Padres are hoping he can start baseball activities by next week.

"Start playing some catch and doing some strength exercises, and from there, maybe get in the batting cage," Padres manager Bud Black said.

Alonso's return would add a huge presence to the middle of the Padres' order. Alonso is hitting .284 with 54 hits and 29 RBIs.


(mlb.com)

SAN DIEGO -- First baseman Yonder Alonso, on the disabled list since June 1 with a right hand contusion, hopes to get clearance Monday to take part in baseball activities after visiting a hand specialist.

Alonso suffered a fracture of the metacarpal -- the bone above the knuckle -- on his middle finger when he was hit by a pitch on May 31.

He had been wearing a splint to immobilize the hand ever since landing on the disabled list, though he recently was able to take it off.

"I really want to burn it," Alonso joked.

Who can blame him? Alonso missed his 14th consecutive game with the injury Thursday, as the Padres opened a four-game series against the Dodgers at Petco Park.

Alonso is encouraged the hand is healing.

"[Training staff] took it off today and they started touching it around where it was hurting. [Before] it was probably an eight or nine [out of 10 on the pain scale]. But it's probably down to a three or four. It's made a significant amount of progress in the last week, week and a half."

Alonso is hoping a CT scan Monday could pave the way for him to resume his on-field baseball work. That said, it's not like he's been sitting around gathering dust.

"The good thing is I can run and have been able to do my top-hand stuff hitting. I've been doing a lot of baseball stuff. The hitting will be the easiest thing to come. I've been staying on top of it, watching a lot of film.

"But I've become more a student of the game. I watch a lot of film. I watch all the games, to get ready for when I do come back. I feel like I'm the third hitting coach, because I watch all the at-bats."

At the time of his injury, Alonso was hitting .284 with six home runs and 29 RBIs in 54 games this season. The Padres have mostly used Kyle Blanks at first base in his absence.


(mlb.com)

Yonder Alonso was placed on the disabled list yesterday in a last-minute change of plans when the Padres realized his wrist injury wasn’t getting any better and general manager Josh Byrnes just said in a radio interview with 1090-AM that the first baseman has a fractured hand.

There’s no official timetable yet for his return, but Byrnes indicated that Alonso could miss a month.

Before being hit by a pitch last week Alonso batted .284 with six homers and a .751 OPS in 54 games, improving on last year’s OPS by just 10 points despite lots of preseason optimism about his production rising thanks to the Petco Park fences coming in.

Kyle Blanks, who was headed to Triple-A before the Padres reversed course and put Alonso on the DL instead, should see plenty of action for however long he’s out.


(hardballtalk.com)

The San Diego Padres will place 1B Yonder Alonso (hand) on the 15-day disabled list with a right hand contusion Thursday, June 6, to make room for the return of OF Cameron Maybin (wrist) from the DL. 1B Kyle Blanks will remain on the roster.

Jesus Guzman and Blanks could split duties at first base with Alonso out, although both hit from the right side. They're both worthy of looking at in deep mixed leagues. Alonso hasn't played since last Friday, so the Padres can back date his DL stint to allow him to return soon.


(kffl.com)

LOS ANGELES -- Yonder Alonso was out of the Padres starting lineup again on Monday, but manager Bud Black is hopeful his first baseman will be available at some point during this week's three-game series at Dodger Stadium.

Alonso was hit in the hand in Friday's game against the Toronto Blue Jays. He exited with a right hand contusion and hasn't played since.

"He's getting close," Black said. "We're hoping tomorrow or the next day. ... He's feeling better. It's all about his grip strength, and that's improving. He's still getting a lot of treatment."

Alonso is hitting .284 with six homers and a .751 OPS this season.


(mlb.com)

PHOENIX — Yonder Alonso breaks out into a wide grin at the mere mention of “defensive shift.”

“I don’t really think about it,” the Padres first baseman said Saturday afternoon when asked about the shift some teams are deploying against him.

The shift against Alonso has been deployed by the Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Mets and Brewers this season.

The second baseman moves to his left as well as backing up into short right field. The shortstop moves behind second base. The only infielder on the left side of the infield is the third baseman.

Alonso on Friday night beat Arizona’s shift by hitting a sharp grounder through the hole typically manned by the shortstop, driving in Carlos Quentin with the Padres’ first run. Earlier this season, Alonso dropped a bunt single when the Dodgers shifted against him.

“I don’t make adjustments to what I’m doing when they shift,” said Alonso. “I’m not a dead pull hitter. I hope they keep doing it.”

Alonso has power to both alleys. Several of the teams that shift the infield to the right, actually shade the outfield toward the left side against Alonso.

“Shifting is more a function of the pitcher,” said Padres manager Bud Black. “Defenses shift a lot based on what type of pitcher is working and how he wants to pitch a certain hitter. Some teams shift on Chase (Headley) at times.

“I do know this, Yonder has the ability to beat the shift.”

Padres hitting coach Phil Plantier said he is not surprised that teams use a shift against Alonso.

“Nothing surprises me,” Plantier said of defensive shifts. “There are thousands of charts out there. Every team has charts and graphs outlining player tendencies in great detail.

“Shifts take into consideration both the hitter and the pitcher. As a manager, you’re thinking ‘how are we going to pitch this guy ... what does the pitcher want to do ... where might he hit this pitch or that pitch.’

“And sometimes a shift is just mental to try to put a piece of doubt in the hitter’s head, take him out of the comfort zone.”

Plantier’s advice to Padres hitters facing a shift:

“Stay in your swing,” said Plantier. “Don’t change your approach for a shift. That is playing into the other team’s strategy. Yes, if you get an outside pitch that you would normally take the other way, take it the other way. But don’t change the approach just to beat the shift.”

“When I’m hitting, I’m not looking at where the infielders are playing,” said Alonso. “You notice, but you can’t focus on that. But I knew when I hit that pitch Friday night that it was a hit ... there was no shortstop where the shortstop usually is.”


(utsandiego.com)

As a rookie in 2012, Padres first baseman Yonder Alonso hit his fourth homer in the season’s 92nd game on July 17 and drove in his 19th run in the season’s 81st game on July second.

He reached both those totals Friday in the Padres 29th game while going 2-for-4 with a decisive two-run homer off Wade Miley..

Alonso is on pace to hit 22 homers and drive in 106 runs this season after finishing with nine homers and 62 RBI last season.

Alonso, 25, has also hit safely in 10 of his last 12 games, hitting .341 (14-for-41) with three doubles, two homers and 11 RBI. He has reached base safely in 11 of his last 12 games.

He is also hitting .375 (18-for-48) at Petco Park this season with four doubles, two homers and 11 RBI. He has hit safely in 12 of the 13 home games he’s played.


(utsandiego.com)

After 30 games, Yonder Alonso leads the Padres in both home runs (four) and RBIs (19).

Last year, the then rookie Alonso didn’t hit his fourth homer until the Padres 92nd game on July 17. And he didn’t drive in his 19th run until the final game of the first half on July 2.

The difference between the seasons for the 26-year-old first baseman?

“I’m just more at peace,” Alonso said Saturday afternoon. “I’m just trying to make things simple. Last year guys didn’t know me. Now they know they can count on me. That feels good. There’s a comfort level with that.

“It also makes it easier when everyone (meaning Chase Headley and Carlos Quentin) are here. Everyone in the lineup is stronger.”

Alonso is on pace to hit 21 homers and drive in 103 runs this season after finishing with nine homers and 62 RBI last season while batting .273 and setting a Padres rookie record with 39 doubles.

So far this season, Alonso is hitting .353 (18-for-51) at Petco Park with four doubles, two homers and 11 RBI. He had hit safely in 12 of the first 13 home games before going 0-for-3 with a walk Saturday night.

Of course, fans continue to compare the careers of Alonso and Anthony Rizzo. Shortly after Alonso came to the Padres in the 4-for-1, 2012 trade that sent Mat Latos to the Reds, the Padres traded Rizzo to the Cubs.

It turns out that is far from the only link between Alonso and Rizzo.

“Rizzo and I go way back,” said Alonso. “We’re both south Florida kids. My high school coach scouted Rizzo for Boston. After we met, Anthony wanted to hit with me.

“I think he’s one of the up-and-coming players in the major leagues. He can hit, hit with power, play defense and run.


(utsandiego.com)

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The new Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 deck atop the reconfigured right field wall at Petco Park provides an inviting target.

"It's nice," said Alonso, who hit a go-ahead, two-run homer off Wade Miley in the fifth inning to help the Padres to a 7-6 victory against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night, San Diego's seventh win in nine games. It was Arizona's fourth straight loss.

Alsono's homer was one of 14 hits for the Padres, the second time they've had that many in three home games. Rookie Jedd Gyorko had his first three-hit game, including two doubles.

"I've sensed us starting to swing the bats better the last couple weeks," manager Bud Black said. "We've broken out a couple different times on a couple different games and it showed tonight again with double-digit hits, some good at-bats, some good walks, some hard contact along the way, a big home run, a couple big swings. I've sensed that."

With the Padres trailing 3-2, Alonso drove a 2-2 pitch from Miley (2-1) into the Jack Daniel's deck in right-center, his fourth. It probably would have been a home run even in Petco Park's old configuration. The fences were moved in 11 feet from the home run porch in the right-field corner to the gap in an attempt to make the downtown ballpark play fairer. Jesus Guzman was aboard on a grounder.

Miley was "locating pretty well early in the game," Alonso said. "I got a good fastball elevated middle in. He got me to foul some pitches inside. I wasn't catching up to it, but then I made a little adjustment."

Miley said he left a pitch up.

"I was trying to get it away and I overthrew it and it stayed middle and he did a good job of hitting it," Miley said. "I was battling a bit. You don't always feel your best every time. But I had some opportunities to get out of it."

The homer made a winner of Jason Marquis (3-2). Marquis allowed three runs and four hits in six innings, struck out five and walked five.


(ap.org)

Yonder Alonso scored the winning run on a Marco Scutaro error as the Padres beat the Giants 8-7 in 12 innings Saturday.

Alonso doubled for the third time to reach base in the 12th. He came around to score when Scutaro failed to handle Nick Hundley's grounder. The three doubles matches Alonso's season total for his previous 79 at-bats. He went eight straight games without collecting an extra-base hit or scoring a run before coming through tonight.


(rotoworld.com)

SAN FRANCISCO -- Let's get this straight: Yonder Alonso doesn't like getting a start off. Not in April and not in September. He wants to play. Period.

"I don't want a day off. There's no need at all to take a day off," Alonso said. "I hate days off."

Alonso wasn't in the starting lineup Sunday against the Giants, who started a left-handed pitcher -- Barry Zito -- as the right-handed-hitting Jesus Guzman got the start at first base. It's the second time in 2013 that Alonso hasn't started a game, though he entered in the sixth inning to replace Guzman, who moved to left field after Kyle Blanks was shaken up colliding with the outfield wall. Alonso has played in all 18 of the Padres' games this season.

"It's not even a day off, it's just not starting," said Padres manager Bud Black. "I thought it gave him an opportunity to exhale. He's going to play a lot and get a lot of at-bats."

Alonso said not to put much stock into his three-game funk that has seen him go 0-for-11 with seven strikeouts against some good pitchers -- Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers and, in this series, Madison Bumgarner and Tim Lincecum.

"Sometimes, those guys are tough," Alonso said.

Prior to those three games, Alonso was hitting .419 in his eight previous games with at least one hit in all eight games.

"I think you have to put it in perspective," Alonso said Sunday. "We have faced a stretch of three or four guys who have thrown the ball well. You're going to go through a tough stretch of pitchers sometimes."

In 2012, Alonso appeared in 155 games in his first full Major League season. Only Chase Headley (161) played in more games for the Padres.

"I take care of myself in the offseason because I want to play in 162 games," he said.


(mlb.com)

It might seem an odd image, Yonder Alonso working out alongside Alex Rodriguez, these days a fading baseball player who stars only in tabloids.

But there’s an explanation that goes as far back as Miami, where both men spent their formative years.

Back then, Alonso was simply awestruck. The pros walking through the doors at the preteen’s Boys and Girls Club weren’t just any pros.

Marco Scutaro. Derek Jeter. Rafael Palmeiro.

And then there was Rodriguez, who took a particular liking to the aspiring pro.

“After I met him, we really got to talk about baseball,” Alonso said recently. “It was really cool.”

In his own way, the Padres first baseman would like to be that version of his former offseason training partner. Alonso certainly devoted last winter to changing his swing — incorporating more of his legs and torso in hopes of increasing his power while retaining his contact rate — but back home in Miami, he still found the time to stop by his old after-school haunt.

Just about every afternoon, Alonso hoisted jump shots and shared advice with the youngsters at the Boys and Girls Club.

“Those are just things I want to do here in San Diego, since I’m gonna be here for a while,” Alonso said, “kinda do a little bit of what they did for me and help out as much as possible.”

They being the pros Alonso admired. They being the leaders he’d like to emulate, and not just in the community.

Partly by necessity, partly by innate ambition, Alonso has become the Padres hitter saddled, at the moment, with the greatest expectations. In a lineup without projected heart-of-the-order staples Chase Headley and Yasmani Grandal, the first baseman hit the team’s only home run on Opening Day in New York. It would stand as the Padres’ lone home run until they belted two against the Dodgers Monday.

Alonso hit his second home run of the season in Friday's loss to the Rockies, which dropped the Padres to 2-8.

“I gotta do my part,” Alonso said, “but there’s obviously other guys who have to do their part also. This is a team thing here, and you can’t rely on one guy or two guys. You gotta rely on all 25 guys so we can get the job done.”

While those words may sound a bit advanced for someone coming off his first full season in the majors, there’s an unmistakable humility there too, honed by nights cleaning offices in Miami with his father, even during a college career as one of the ACC’s best.

“He’s a very confident player,” Padres manager Bud Black said. “He’s got a lot of pride in his game.”

Which can make it easy to forget Alonso turned 26 Monday. The left-handed hitter is likely to show more power this year than last (nine home runs, 39 doubles), especially given the cozier confines at Petco Park, but he’s still seen barely more than 700 major-league at-bats.

“I told him in San Antonio he doesn’t need to carry the load,” Black said. “He doesn’t need to pick up any production with Chase out or if (Carlos Quentin’s) not in the lineup. He doesn’t have to put everything on his shoulders.

“There have been a couple swings where I thought he was trying to do too much, but he’s gotta get back to using the whole field. We’ve talked about where he is in his career, he doesn’t need to have that pressure to produce offensively.”

But there’s still the sense that Alonso remains perhaps the most crucial piece in the early going, what with the Padres trying to salvage another slow start. On April 3 you could almost hear the collective gasp of a fan base in lieu of a frightening play against the Mets.

Coming off the first-base bag to field a wide throw, Alonso made a swipe tag on Collin Cowgill, only to immediately dangle his left arm in considerable pain.
Much to the team’s relief, Alonso stayed in the game and singled twice the next day, having escaped with nothing more than minor hyperextension in his elbow, ready to resume what he hopes will be a career year.

“We need Yonder to play his game, which is steady defense, which is collect hits, hit his doubles,” Black said. “If a homer’s in there, great. But hit for average, get on base, score runs, knock in runs.

“Pressure’s a good thing, but he doesn’t need to put more on himself.”


(utsandiego.com)

SAN DIEGO -- It was a wild ninth inning Wednesday for Padres first baseman Yonder Alonso, as he was constantly on the move, bouncing around the infield while the team was on defense.

After Padres manager Bud Black emptied his bench -- with the exception of reserve catcher John Baker, who would hit in the bottom of the inning -- he asked Alonso to play second base to start the inning as Mark Kotsay occupied first base.

Alonso later moved to third base in the inning and then back to second base. He didn't have a ball hit at him, though Adrian Gonzalez singled to right field, just out of the reach of a diving Alonso.

Alonso became the first player in club history to play those three positions -- first, second and third base -- in a game. He's also one of 20 players in Major League history to do so. The last was Ben Zobrist of the Rays on Sept. 23, 2010, against the Yankees.

Alonso didn't see what the big deal was.

"Buddy gave me a warning that it might happen," Alonso said. " ... It wasn't so far out of the ordinary. It's not like I was playing center field."

But it was still unusual for Alonso, who had played one game at third base before Wednesday and that was in 2011, when he was with the Reds.

"Actually, Yonder said that he had played second base before," Black said. "He said, 'I have just got to move over 25 feet [from first base].'"

The Padres were shorthanded after Carlos Quentin was essentially unavailable due to a sore right wrist. Black also used Cody Ransom in the bottom of the fifth inning to pinch-hit for starting pitcher Eric Stults.

Jesus Guzman struck out for pitcher Anthony Bass in the seventh inning. Kotsay was used in the eighth inning, flying out for Alexi Amarista. That left Baker, who hit in the bottom of the ninth.


(mlb.com)

Yonder Alonso made appearances at second base and third base in the ninth inning of Wednesday's game. That wacky Bud Black had Mark Kotsay pinch-hit for Alexi Amarista tonight even though the rest of his bench was used up. As a result, Alonso moved to second base, then slid to third with a left-hander up and then moved back to second. He had an attempt while at second base, coming up short on a diving stab. Anyway, if this gives him some extra eligibility in your league, he's now a whole lot more valuable.
(rotoworld.com)

NEW YORK -- The Padres, who had their share of injury-related news in Spring Training, got a big scare during Wednesday's loss to the Mets.

First baseman Yonder Alonso appeared to have hurt his left arm when he came off the bag to make a swipe tag on Collin Cowgill in the fifth inning on what wound up being a throwing error by third baseman Jedd Gyorko.

Alonso immediately clutched his arm.

"Not good," said Padres manager Bud Black. "You think worst-case scenario. It looked like it might be a shoulder issue. But when I went out there, he said it was his elbow."

After working for a few minutes with trainer Paul Navarro, who quickly put Alonso through a handful of strength tests to determine if there was an injury, Alonso's pain started to subside. He ended up staying in the game and was in the starting lineup on Thursday.

"I woke up today and it was good," Alonso said. "I was a little scared for a second. But when Paulie went out and started playing with it, I knew it would be fine."

The Padres are already without third baseman Chase Headley for what will likely be most of April, if not longer, while infielder Logan Forsythe is sidelined indefinitely with plantar fasciitis in his right foot. Two other players -- pitcher Casey Kelly and Minor League outfielder Rymer Liriano -- needed reconstructive elbow surgery in Spring Training.

The last thing the Padres needed was another significant injury. That's why Black felt the team dodged a bullet Wednesday.

"Those things don't look good when they happen," Black said.


(mlb.com)

Yonder Alonso's sixth-inning home run against the Mets on opening day went to deep right field -- where six of his nine 2012 home runs landed. 

Why is this a big deal? Because Alonso, who will turn 26 next week, now has a tasty target in San Diego, with the Padres moving the right field fences in almost 20 feet. Granted, this home run was hit in Queens, but it may just signal an overall philosophical shift for 2013 -- hit the home runs to right, without the fear of those fences at PETCO forcing adjustments back in San Diego. Additionally, Alonso may have been due to turn some of his 39 doubles last year into some home runs, just through a natural progression of his career. 

A former top prospect who showed decent power potential in the minors, Alonso is owned in just 65 percent of leagues. I could see that going to about 75 percent by the end of the week. 


(cbssports.com)

San Diego Padres 1B Yonder Alonso (hand) was hit on the hand by a pitch in the Cactus League spring game Tuesday, March 26, and his hand was swollen.

Fantasy Tip: After the game, Alonso said he could grip a bat, so it appears he dodged a more serious injury. He remains a decent low-end 1B or CI in deeper NL-only fantasy leagues heading into the regular season.


(kffl.com)

PEORIA, Ariz. - Yonder Alonso spent part of the offseason looking for more power in his swing. It turns out he just needed to wait a bit longer.

Alonso hit his fifth home run in his last nine games and the San Diego Padres beat a split squad of Milwaukee Brewers 6-4 on Sunday.

Alonso had two hits, scored twice and drove in three runs in another solid performance in his late spring surge.

It's a positive sign for the 25-year-old first baseman, who hit.273 with 62 RBIs in his first full major league season, but had just nine home runs at a position where power is a job requirement.

Following his offseason work, Alonso felt he didn't have to overhaul his swing. He thought his natural gap power would lift balls over the fence with better choices.

"I did a lot of video work, and really dissected my swing to understand it better," he said. "I saw that I didn't have to change what I was doing. The power will come as I mature as a hitter and make better and better decisions at the plate. So far this spring, it's been working."

Alonso has picked it up after he was 4 for 29 in his first nine spring games. On Sunday, he drove a 1-2 pitch from Wily Peralta in the fifth inning over the wall in right.

"Yonder has taken good swings over the last two weeks," Padres manager Buddy Black said. "The home run was nice, but I really like that it came with two strikes. He wasn't doing a good job of making two-strike contact early in spring, so this was an important at bat in that regard.

"I also like that he wasn't trying to hit a home run in that at-bat. It's tough to try and generate home runs with his swing, and we're comfortable with where it is right now. If he makes good contact, the home runs will come on their own."

With star third baseman Chase Headley out with a broken left thumb and left fielder Carlos Quentin recovering from knee soreness, Alonso is the Padres' only middle-of-the-order hitter with a full spring under his belt.

That doesn't mean Alonso will try to carry San Diego's offense on his own.

"I'm just one piece of a larger puzzle," Alonso said. "When you try and take on too much or assume more responsibility, you end up hindering your own progress. I'm just going to be me, and try to drive in runs whenever possible."


(startribune.com)

The news coming out of the Padres' camp has seemingly been all gloom and doom of late. Which makes Yonder Alonso's recent resurgence at the plate all the more refreshing, even if these are still exhibitions.

Over the last seven games, the Padres first baseman is 6-for-19 with three home runs and six RBIs. This after he started the spring 3-for-22 and struggled to make contact, much less hard contact.

When the games do start to count, Alonso, soon to be 26, may remain the Padres' best bet at a ray of sunshine.

With Chase Headley out, Carlos Quentin coming back from a balky knee and Yasmani Grandal suspended, Alonso for now is the preeminent power bat in the lineup (not counting an unproven Jedd Gyorko), even if he did hit only nine home runs in 2012.

The evidence suggests he's capable of more.

He hit a team-high 39 doubles last season (eighth in the NL), he posted good power numbers in the minors and, tossing aside less meaningful spring trends, he consistently makes contact.

The next and needed step for the Padres: He breaks out in 2013.


(utsandiego.com)

PEORIA, Ariz. — The alma mater of Padres catcher Eddy Rodriguez and first baseman Yonder Alonso has appeared in 23 College World Series, of which they have won four. However, in men’s basketball, the University of Miami is seeking its first NCAA championship, something Rodriguez and Alonso are confident will happen in just a few weeks.

The Hurricanes are the second seed in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament’s East Region. They open play on Thursday against the University of the Pacific.

“It’s unbelievable. Normally we’re a baseball and football school and now our basketball team is getting close to maybe achieving that prize of winning the championship,” said Rodriguez, who was the starting catcher for the University of Miami before being drafted in 2006 to the Cincinnati Reds.

Despite Rodriguez’s devotion to his alma mater, he says he won’t be filling out a bracket this year. “I personally don’t [have a bracket]. I know that Yonder does and he’s a big Miami guy too, but if I was doing mine I’d be pulling for the home team all the way throughout.”

Alonso did fill out a bracket, and he’s definitely behind his former team. He picked the Canes to go all the way, predicting an 88-82 win against Gonzaga.
Alonso played baseball at Miami for three seasons, leading the team to the College World Series in 2008 as the No. 1 seed. That year Alonso was drafted seventh overall by the Cincinnati Reds, and was traded to the Padres in 2011.

“They’re getting better and better and finally they put it all together. I’m definitely pulling for them in March Madness,” said Alonso.

Luckily for Rodriguez and Alonso, the Padres have Thursday, the first full day of the NCAA Tournament, off. They plan to take advantage of that and watch Miami take on the fifteenth seeded Pacific Tigers.

Alonso is going to have teammates over to watch the game, while Rodriguez will watch the Hurricanes before attending a Phoenix Coyotes hockey game Thursday night.

Padres’ outfielder Will Venable shares March Madness from a different perspective. He played basketball at Princeton University and competed in the NCAA Tournament in 2004.

“Playing in the Ivy League you only get to play really big games when you go outside of the conference, but even some of the games we were able to play didn’t amount to half of what it meant to play in the NCAA Tournament,” Venable recalls about playing in the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship Tournament as a junior.

“You realize how important it is not to just your team but to everyone around the country. It’s really something special to be a part of.”

With Princeton not making the tournament this year, Venable will be rooting for Georgetown, home to his former coach at Princeton, John Thompson III.


(utsandiego.com)

San Diego Padres 1B Yonder Alonso made changes to his stance this offseason with the help of hitting coach Phil Plantier, balancing his body and putting more of his legs and torso into his swing, which he hopes will add more power. "To me, the changes are dramatic," Alonso said. "When Plantier and I started working, I opened myself up to any ideas. I want to add some power to my swing. What he did was make me more balanced at the plate so I could move quicker to the ball. We changed my swing a lot and worked on my lower body." Knee surgery affected Alonso's lower half before the start of last season.


(kffl.com)

Item! (that was for you, Jackie Harvey): Orioles infielder/phenom Manny Machado tells Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun that, yes, he is indeed engaged to be married to the sister of Padres first baseman Yonder Alonso. A wedding date has not yet been set.

Machado is still just 20 years of age. As for big brother's approval, it seems that they have it. Schmuck, after noting that Machado and Alonso are close friends, writes:

Machado said Yonder is almost as excited about the engagement as the happy couple.

"We're already like brothers,'" he said.

Yes, it so happens that the Orioles and Padres will meet in interleague play this season -- twice, in fact: in Baltimore on May 14-15 and in San Diego on Aug. 6-7.


(cbssports.com)

CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- With just 69 games of big league experience heading into 2012, Padres first baseman Yonder Alonso received an education on the full-season grind, complete with slumps, streaks and adjustments.

He, along with then-rookie catcher Yasmani Grandal and right-hander Edison Volquez, had to adjust to a new organization. All three were traded in December 2011 from the Cincinnati Reds.

Though San Diego entered last year's All-Star break 34-53 -- never reaching above .500 -- the Padres went 42-33 in the second half, finishing fourth in the National League West.

"I honestly think it was just the fact that we had experience with the first half," said Alonso, who spoke at the University of Miami's preseason baseball banquet Thursday night. "Certainly we had a lot of younger guys like myself -- a lot of rookies -- where we didn't know the system, the teams. The more we played the more familiar we got. We felt more confident with ourselves and got comfortable in our surroundings and started playing like we know how to play."

Yet, this offseason, San Diego's biggest transaction was recently avoiding arbitration with All-Star third baseman Chase Headley by agreeing to a one-year, $8.575 million contract.

Headley provided a steady presence in the middle of the lineup and at the hot corner for the Padres, hitting for a career-high .286 average with 31 homers and a league-leading 115 RBIs. The 28-year-old finished fifth in the National League Most Valuable Player Award voting and received a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger.

Much like the surging Padres, Headley's success came after the Midsummer Classic, with 23 homers and 73 RBIs. Alonso, 25, still marvels at Headley's season, comparing his value to the likes of Albert Pujols, Joey Votto and Miguel Cabrera.

"He was out of control," said Alonso, who batted .273 with nine homers and 62 RBIs in 155 games. "There were two or three months there that were unreal. He always plays every day, and that's one of the things that I thrived on this year -- to play as many games as I can."

San Diego also agreed to Minor League deals with starting pitchers Tim Stauffer, Arturo Lopez and two-time All-Star Freddy Garcia. Right-hander Jason Marquis, 34, re-signed with the Padres, but the organization missed out on free agents Dan Haren and Joe Blanton.

The Padres will be without Grandal (.297, eight homers, 36 RBIs) -- a former collegiate teammate of Alonso's at the University of Miami -- for 50 games as he serves a suspension for testing positive for testosterone.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Dodgers spent more money, the Arizona Diamondbacks worked trades and the San Francisco Giants kept most of their World Series championship squad intact.

Still, Alonso believes the team will compete, and that it hasn't lost its momentum from the second half of last season. In 2012, San Diego dropped five games to the Dodgers by one run and six to the Giants by two runs or fewer.

"We play fine with those guys," said Alonso, who leaves for Spring Training in Peoria, Ariz., on Sunday. "It doesn't scare us one bit. We just have to execute, make our game plan work and go from there. I think our team is fine, I think our team is great. We have the pieces we need to challenge other teams and play good baseball.

"We have the No. 1 prospects in the country. We have one of the best farm systems in all of baseball, and I think that's how you're going to win. You're going to win with young guys, guys who want it really bad, and that's just how it is in San Diego. We're going to win."


(mlb.com)

MIAMI -- The passing of Hall of Famers Stan Musial and Earl Weaver saddened baseball fans across the world last week.

In Miami, baseball fans also mourned the death of legendary University of Miami head coach Ron Fraser. The "Wizard of College Baseball" passed away last Sunday at the age of 79 due to complications from Alzheimer's disease.

Fraser, who won two national championships at Miami, revolutionized college baseball and had a huge impact on the lives of young men growing up in Miami who dreamed of one day becoming Hurricanes.

"I have pictures of myself at Ron Fraser Baseball Camp on the old turf field," said Cardinals outfielder Jon Jay. "That's really where I started to fall in love with UM. Ever since then, I always wore my UM cap everywhere I went."

Jay is one of several Miami natives in the big leagues who grew up watching Fraser's Canes dominate college baseball. The 27-year-old remembers meeting Fraser as a child and spending time with him in his three years playing at Miami.

"Ron Fraser reinvented the college game," Jay said. "He's somebody that really made his mark and changed college baseball forever. It's a big loss."

Padres first baseman Yonder Alonso, who was a teammate with Jay at Miami, remembers the moments he spent with Fraser fondly.

"I got to hear a lot of stories," Alonso said. "He would come around and talk to us. Obviously, it's a sad moment for us as Hurricanes and for baseball in general. He was a great coach, one of the greatest ever in the NCAA. As a player and a fan, you feel very sorry for his passing. He was such a great inspiration for the Hurricanes, and he's in a better place now."

Alonso was one of several big leaguers who attended the second annual Jon Jay Celebrity Bowling Challenge at Lucky Strike Lanes in Miami Beach on Saturday. Cardinals infielders David Freese and Daniel Descalso, Astros infielder Tyler Greene, Phillies outfielder John Mayberry, White Sox outfielder Blake Tekotte, Orioles catcher Luis Exposito and Nationals first baseman Chris Marrero were just some of the nearly 30 baseball players who came out to support Jay as he raised more than $30,000 for the Boys & Girls Club of Miami-Dade.

"All those people are good people," Jay said. "I try to surround myself with good people. I can't thank them enough because without them, this event wouldn't be possible."

Jay often takes the opportunity to give back in his hometown. Last year, Jay's Bowling Challenge raised more than $25,000 for Chapman Partnership, a local group that helps Miami's homeless. This year, Jay decided to give back to a place that is very special to him.

"The Boys' Club is really where I grew up," Jay said. "It's where I played ball and went after school. That's a place that had a big impact on me, and I just want to provide the same opportunity for other kids."

Jay, who hit .305 and played stellar defense for the Cardinals last season, is pleased with how the Celebrity Bowling Challenge has grown and hopes to continue his charitable efforts for years to come.

"We're excited about it," Jay said. "Last year, it was kind of put together quickly, but this year, we were able to plan it with a little more time and it's been successful. I'm so happy for the support the community has given me. This is where I was born and raised. I wouldn't be where I am without a lot of people that are here today. It's nice to get everyone together and have a good time for a good cause."


(mlb.com)

By altering the dimensions of Petco Park, the Padres could be playing a very different brand of baseball in these coming years. Long thought of as one of the most pitcher-friendly parks in all of baseball, Petco Park might have a new identity in the future. Due to their decision to move the fences in, the Padres will have to build their team in a different way. For players like Yonder Alonso and Jedd Gyorko, the new dimensions could be extremely beneficial to their success at the plate. However, for pitchers like Edinson Volquez and Eric Stults, they are going to have to learn to keep the ball on the ground more in 2013.

The new dimensions at Petco Park are drastically different from the old. In Right Field, the wall is moving in 11 Feet. In Right-Center and left-center, the walls will be moved in 12 Feet. Also, the visiting bullpen down the Right Fieldline is being relocated to Center Field behind the home bullpen. Padres president Tom Garfinkel told ESPN, “Players know what’s fair and what’s not. When they crush a ball that would be out in 29 other parks, and it’s not out here, they know that it’s not fair. We wanted to make it more fair from that standpoint.” This is the way a lot of baseball feels about extreme pitcher’s parks, so not too many people seemed unhappy with the Padres decision.

Just looking at Yonder Alonso’s 2012 hit chart, if he had played at Petco with its new dimensions, he could have had anywhere from 6-8 more Home Runs in 2012. For someone who only hit nine all season, that makes a pretty big difference. The fantasy baseball implications of the Petco Park dimension change are enormous. Now, Chase Headley looks a lot more likely to repeat his tremendous 2012 season and Cameron Maybin looks like a good bet to break 10 HRs in 2013, something he’s never done before in his Major League career.  I wouldn’t be surprised if more Padres pitchers started throwing more sinkers and trying to keep the ball down more because of the new fences.  Overall, statistics for Padres hitters and pitchers are going to change greatly over the next couple years.

San Diego is no longer going to have a ballpark where hitters find it nearly impossible to hit it out. With these changes, Petco Park will become more of a fair environment for hitters and pitchers. Not to mention, it should be easier for the Padres to draw Free Agent sluggers in the future. Even though teams have proven that it is possible to be very successful playing in a pitcher’s park, the Padres organization realized it wasn’t going to work for them. It will be extremely intriguing to see what kind of effect the new dimensions has on the Padres next season.


(mlbreports.com)