San Diego Padres outfielder Tirso Ornelas was recalled from Triple-A El Paso after Jason Heyward was placed on the 10-day injured list with left knee inflammation over the weekend.
The Padres’ outfield depth has continued to dwindle, with Jackson Merrill, Brandon Lockridge, and Heyward all on the injured list. However, it provided Ornelas with the opportunity he had been looking for after spending the previous eight seasons in the minors.
The rookie learned late Friday night that the Padres had called him up to the big leagues, and the journey to join the team proved difficult.
Ornelas arrived at the Albuquerque airport at 6 a.m., but his flight was delayed until 1 p.m. While waiting for his flight, he slept on a jacket on the floor.
Ornelas made his Major League debut on Sunday Night Baseball, facing the Houston Astros at Daikin Park. He came in as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning and hit a flyout to left field.
Although the at-bat was not ideal, Ornelas reached a significant milestone in the Padres’ 3-2 loss to the Astros.
“I felt nervous. My first at-bat in the Majors. “It was an incredible feeling,” Ornelas told MLB.com via an interpreter. “In terms of that at-bat, I was simply looking for a pitch that I could handle.
I know [Astros reliever Tayler Scott] has a lot of movement on his fastball. So he got the best of me, but I am confident I will be ready for tomorrow.”
In Triple-A, the 25-year-old batted.281 with an OPS of.777. He hit.297 with an.864 OPS for El Paso last season.
With several outfielders on the IL, Ornelas could see more time in the majors with San Diego.
