San Diego Padres standout second baseman Jake Cronenworth was activated off the 10-day injured list prior to Friday night’s road game against the Colorado Rockies.
Cronenworth missed the past four-plus weeks due to a fractured rib.
Cronenworth was hit by a pitch on April 6 during a contest against the Chicago Cubs and attempted to play through the injury. Two days later, he exited a game against the Athletics due to increasing pain in the ribs.
San Diego opened a roster spot by optioning outfielder Oscar Gonzalez to Triple-A El Paso on Thursday.
Cronenworth, 31, batted .257 with a .409 on-base percentage in nine games this season before going on the IL. He has two homers and five RBIs.
The two-time All-Star is in his sixth season with the Padres. He is batting .247 with 71 homers and 315 RBIs in 658 career games.
Despite lengthy absences of Cronenworth and All-Star center fielder Jackson Merrill, the Padres possess a 23-13 record that rates fourth in the majors. Merrill returned to the lineup Tuesday after missing 24 games with a right hamstring injury.
