LOS ANGELES — The Padres need all the help they can get offensively.
They have scored the fewest runs in the major leagues this season (by far), have been shut out 17 times and also rank last in batting average, slugging percentage and on-base percentage.
Shortstop Everth Cabrera could provide some help. Cabrera has been on the DL since Aug. 12 with a strained left hamstring but has made enough progress that Padres manager Bud Black said Cabrera could return for this weekend’s series in Arizona.
“He’s closer. I don’t know how to quantify that,” Black said before Monday’s 9-4 loss at Dodger Stadium. “We’re hoping to see him in Arizona. I think there’s a good chance.”
Cabrera has been an offensive catalyst at times for the Padres over the past three seasons. He led the National League with 44 stolen bases in 2012 and led the Padres with a .283 average in 2013 while making the All-Star team.
But his time in San Diego has come with some unsettling baggage as well.
In 2012, Cabrera was charged with domestic violence in Arizona. The charges were later dropped. But his 2013 season ended early when he served a 50-game suspension as part of his involvement in the Biogenesis PED scandal.
Cabrera’s latest misstep came last week when he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of marijuana. The 27-year-old Cabrera could be subject to further discipline from MLB as a result of the latest incident.
Black said he has not discussed the situation directly with Cabrera since the arrest.