MLB Rumors: Padres Suffer Another Blow As Catcher Injures Finger; Return Unknown

KEY POINTS

Austin Nola is forced to sit on the sidelines with an injured finger
The San Diego Padres are likely to turn to Campusano or Caratini in Nola's absence
San Diego is headed for rough MLB opening matches with several key players being injured

The San Diego Padres personnel problems continue to pile up with reports that catcher Austin Nola has suffered a fractured left middle-finger injury.

His return to active duty remains questionable although it is clear that the 31-year-old will be unavailable when the new MLB season opens.

In an update provided by team manager Jayce Tingler, Nola suffered the injury while catching a foul tip Saturday. The Padres infielder still managed to finish the game, but the pain worsened from there.

It was only when team doctors examined the Louisiana native where it was found that he had a fracture, MLB.com reported.

"We need to wait and see how he responds," Tingler said. "Will he be ready for Opening Day? I don't know. I know he's extremely tough. It wouldn't surprise me if he's ready sooner rather than later, but we're not going to know much until he gets some treatment on it."

Unless a credible update comes on the status of Austin Nola, chances are he will start the new MLB season on the injured list. This will be a big problem for the Padres who do not have a capable replacement for now.

The player that will most likely fill up the spot is Victor Caratini who has a stat line of .250/.327/.372 over the last four seasons.

Aside from Caratini, there is also Luis Campusano that San Diego can tap from its 40-man roster. The 22-year-old player made his MLB debut last year but only saw action once due to the conditions surrounding the 2020 MLB season.

“Campusano has been catching (more) and getting some at-bats over the last couple of days. That’s going to continue now, so should be a nice time for those guys to find some rhythm and timing and get going to find a flow offensively and defensively over the next week,” Tingler stated via the San Diego Tribune.

Aside from Nola, other players who went down with injuries recently include Fernando Tatis Jr. There is also Trent Grisham (grade 1 hamstring sprain), Wil Myers (right knee soreness) and Ha-Seong Kim (undisclosed injury).

Despite the injury bug hounding the Padres, San Diego is expected to try and hold up the fort.

Nola is a big loss for their upcoming MLB campaign, and all the Padres can do for now is hope that some positive development ensues in the coming weeks.