Padres place Cronenworth on IL with fractured rib

The MLB-best San Diego Padres will be down a bat for the next little while, as they placed second baseman Jake Cronenworth on the 10-day injured list with a fractured right rib.

Cronenworth characterized the timetable for his return as being "open-ended," although he's optimistic he won't be sidelined for long, according to AJ Cassavell of MLB.com.

Utility player Tyler Wade was called up from Triple-A El Paso in a corresponding move.

Cronenworth sustained the injury when he was hit by a pitch in the first inning of Sunday's game against the Chicago Cubs, according to AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. He finished that game, then played all nine innings and homered the next night against the Athletics in West Sacramento.

However, the 31-year-old was forced to leave Tuesday's game after three innings when he wasn't able to run out a ground ball because of the pain. An MRI taken Thursday revealed the fracture.

The Padres became the first team to reach 10 wins Wednesday, but they did so without several of their stars. Besides Cronenworth, the team is also without outfielder Jackson Merrill, who's sidelined with a strained hamstring. Fernando Tatis Jr. also left Tuesday's game early with a shoulder injury, although he'll return to the lineup Friday against the Colorado Rockies, according to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Cronenworth, a two-time All-Star, is hitting .257/.409/.486 with two homers and five RBIs over 44 plate appearances to start this season.

Wade, 30, put up a .524 OPS over 90 games with the Padres last season in a part-time role. He's mostly played second base at Triple-A this year, but he also has experience at third, shortstop, and all three outfield spots. He's a candidate to cover second in Cronenworth's absence; other options include Jose Iglesias and Luis Arraez.

To make room for Wade on the 40-man roster, the Padres transferred knuckleball pitcher Matt Waldron to the 60-day IL.