Padres outfielder Carlos Quentin was forced to begin the year on the disabled list due to a bone bruise in his left knee, but he’s getting closer to making his season debut.
Quentin was 1-for-12 with two walks and a strikeout over his first five rehab games with Triple-A El Paso, but he went 2-for-4 with a home run and a single last night. Padres manager Bud Black told Jeff Sanders of UT-San Diego before last night’s game that Quentin could be activated at some point during the club’s upcoming six-game road trip, which begins Tuesday in Cincinnati.
Quentin has been limited to just 168 games over the past two seasons, mostly due to continued knee problems, but he has produced a .268/.368/.498 batting line in that time to go along with 28 home runs and 90 RBI. The 31-year-old has never played more than 131 games in a season.