Huston Street won’t be closing for the San Diego Padres for at least 15 days. Street was placed on the DL with a strained calf on Sunday and is not expected back until the middle of June at the earliest. For the closer, 15 days off may be a good thing.
While Street was able to convert 11 of his 12 opportunities before this injury, the results were mixed. In 20.3 innings, Street surrendered a whopping seven home runs and lost three games. The Padres are armed with a backup plan in Street’s absence.
Luke Gregorson has been anointed the interim closer, and was tabbed by Manager, Bud Black, to get “most” of the opportunities in Street’s absence. Dale Thayer, another Padres reliever, will be the backup option in case Gregorson struggles. The Padres are just 26-29 and yet are just five games back of the NL West leading Arizona Diamondbacks.
While it’s unlikely San Diego makes any noise by the end of the season, they are still technically in the hunt and may see numerous save opportunities over the next few weeks.
Street is expected to resume his closing duties upon his return. He is first eligible on June 17th, but the Padres are likely to be patient with their struggling closer.
