Luis Arraez appears to have avoided a major injury scare, but the San Diego Padres announced that they have placed the first baseman on the seven-day concussion injured list following a frightening collision on Sunday. The incident occurred in the first inning of the Padres’ 3-2 win over the Houston Astros, when Arraez laid down a drag bunt and collided with Houston second baseman Mauricio Dubón, who was covering first base. Arraez immediately went down hard, and the game was delayed nearly 15 minutes as medical personnel stabilized his head and neck before carting him off the field.
Padres manager Mike Shildt later described the scene as “very scary,” noting how rare and unsettling collisions like that are in baseball. “Luis is a really tough guy. To see him down like that, you know something is serious,” Shildt told ESPN’s Buster Olney after the game.
Fortunately, early updates were positive. The Padres confirmed that Arraez was stable, conscious, responsive, and able to move his extremities before being taken for further evaluation. X-rays came back clean, showing no fractures or major structural injuries. Arraez stayed overnight in Houston for observation and will undergo additional testing upon returning to San Diego.
The good news continued on Monday, with Shildt reporting that Arraez woke up feeling fine, aside from expected neck stiffness. “Nothing cognitively is anything we’re overly concerned about,” Shildt said, adding that Arraez’s entrance into concussion protocol is more a precaution than an immediate cause for alarm.
At the time of the injury, Arraez had started to find his groove at the plate. After a slow start to the season that saw his batting average dip to .258, the reigning National League batting champion had gone 8-for-21 over his last handful of games. Given Arraez’s profile — a player who relies heavily on batting average for value, with modest power (only 31 career home runs) and a below-average walk rate — staying hot at the plate is crucial for his overall impact on the Padres’ lineup.
San Diego acted quickly to fill the roster spot by recalling infielder Mason McCoy from Triple-A El Paso. McCoy will provide depth while Arraez recovers, though there’s optimism that the standout contact hitter won’t be sidelined for long.
For now, the Padres and their fans are breathing a sigh of relief, thankful that what initially looked like a devastating injury seems to be a temporary setback rather than a season-altering loss.
