Padres Manager Discusses Jake Cronenworth's Return Timeline From Concussion

San Diego Padres veteran infielder Jake Cronenworth has been dealing with an unfortunate situation for over two months this year.

Cronenworth has been suffering from ongoing concussion symptoms that stem from him being hit in the face with a pitch back on April 18. The veteran was originally cleared of having a concussion, but over the next few days, he started to experience more symptoms.

However, with the team playing series in both Denver and Mexico City, Cronenworth chalked up his issues to altitude sickness. Cronenworth continued to play with the concussion for nearly three weeks before it got bad enough for him to alert team doctors.

The Padres staff quickly shut him down, and he's been out ever since. Most updates have been bare, with the team monitoring his symptoms.

But there has finally been some progress made with Cronenworth going on a rehab assignment, and his return could come shortly.

Padres manager Craig Stammen weighed in on his return timeline, indicating that the team would continue to take things slow with his recovery.

“Hopefully, he shows that he’s in good shape and hits well, and we can call him back up and get him playing second base for us,” Stammen said.

Due to the nature of this injury, the Padres are making sure that Cronenworth is fully ready to go before he can get back on the field. Concussions are one of the more serious injuries for anyone to deal with, and his playing through the symptoms clearly made everything worse.

🚨 CRONE ZONE ALERT 🚨

Jake Cronenworth is scheduled to begin his MLB rehab assignment tonight against Sugar Land. pic.twitter.com/8QWuf3YDY5
— El Paso Chihuahuas (@epchihuahuas) June 25, 2026

Once Cronenworth is fully healthy, the Padres will welcome him back with open arms. The team has missed him in the lineup, even with him struggling at the plate early on in the season.

“I think he’s gonna give us a little bit of indication of, ‘Yeah, I feel ready, my timing is back,’” Stammen said. “It’s a little bit almost like spring training, where we’ve got to just more so — not like health-wise but just like baseball-wise — am I ready to play baseball? Am I ready to play every day when I get back?”

Cronenworth has been a major piece of the roster over the years, and much of his offensive problems likely stemmed from the concussion. Following the pitch hitting him, the veteran batted .129 (4-for-31) in 12 games.

Fernando Tatis Jr., Sung-Mun Song and Will Wagner have helped fill in for Cronenworth at second base since he went down. Whenever he does return, the Padres will have a tough decision to make on who stays up on the roster, with either Song or Wagner likely being demoted.

“We’ve been missing that left-handed bat in our lineup that gives that professional at-bat, works the pitcher, has the opportunity for some slug, plays great defense,” Stammen said. “He just does all the little things on the field that you kind of miss and don’t really get recognized in the box score. But over the course of time, you’re like, ‘Man, we really miss a player like Jake.’ We’ve missed him this entire time, and it’ll be awesome to have him back.”

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