Padres reinstate Sung-Mun Song, option infielder back to El Paso

The Padres used Sung-Mun Song’s return to sharpen their depth chart, activating the left-handed hitter from the 10-day injured list and optioning him back to Triple-A El Paso on April 16. For San Diego, the move keeps a $15 million investment in motion without forcing an immediate major league roster squeeze, while giving the Chihuahuas another experienced bat in the middle of their infield mix.

Song, 29, had been working back from the right oblique strain that first surfaced in offseason training and flared again March 5 in a spring game against the Mariners. San Diego placed him on the injured list March 25, retroactive to March 22, and he started a rehab assignment with El Paso on March 27. By the time the Padres made the transaction, he had already logged 15 games for the Chihuahuas, hitting .264 with 14 hits, two doubles, nine RBIs and a .652 OPS.

That production matters less as a headline line and more as a sign that Song is moving toward the role San Diego originally envisioned. The club signed him in December 2025 to a four-year deal worth $15 million guaranteed, with an opt-out after the first three seasons and a $7 million mutual option for 2030. After being posted by the Kiwoom Heroes on Nov. 22, 2025, Song arrived with the reputation of a versatile piece who could cover several spots, and the Padres have spent the spring working him at second base and third base while planning to get him reps at shortstop and in left field.

That flexibility gives Song a real path back to San Diego if the major league roster thins out again. The Padres were already juggling injuries and promotions in mid-April, including placing Nick Pivetta on the 15-day injured list April 14 and recalling Alek Jacob from El Paso the same day. In that kind of churn, a player who can move around the diamond and bat left becomes more than a rehab assignment. He becomes insurance.

El Paso now keeps Song close, but not so close that the Padres have to rush him. If San Diego takes another hit in the infield or on the bench, Song looks like the first utility name ready to move back into the big league picture.