Padres pregame: Fernando Tatis Jr. under the weather, not in lineup; Xander Bogaerts remains out

Ramón Laureano has started every game but one since the trade from Baltimore, so Padres manager Mike Shildt circled Monday as a day off for his regular left fielder.

He wasn’t about to take that away from Laureano when Fernando Tatis Jr. “didn’t wake up feeling good,” as Shildt said before Monday’s 6:40 p.m. start against the Brewers on Padres.TV.

Neither player is in Monday’s lineup.

“We’re getting (Tatis) checked out,” Shildt said. “So his (absence) is more for a reason. Laureano is more from just he’s (been) ridden pretty hard and he’s ready to go get a day.”

Laureano’s .858 OPS between the 129 games he’s played between Baltimore and San Diego is tops on the Padres. The outfielder is hitting .271/.323/.497 with nine homers and 30 RBIs in 47 games since the trade.

Laureano’s last day out of the lineup was Aug. 11, although he came off the bench to play the final three innings in left field. He is hitting .143/.204/.265 with one homer and five RBIs over his last 13 games.

Without Laureano or Tatis in the lineup, Bryce Johnson will get the start in left field and bat eighth, Luis Arraez will lead off and play first base and Ryan O’Hearn will get his third start in right field since joining the Padres.

La Regadera leads off on his bobblehead night. pic.twitter.com/WxNOKNU2Tx

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) September 22, 2025

Xander Bogaerts update

The Padres will also start Jose Iglesias at shortstop as Xander Bogaerts — on the injured list with a fracture in his left foot — will get a recovery day after an extensive workout at Petco Park on Monday.

He’s trending toward the Padres activating him Tuesday.

“Before (on-field) batting practice, he went through quite a workout,” Shildt said. “And got him on the bases and really stretched him out — home to first, first to third, second to home, home and then took him through a nice groundball routine that you know, forced him to go to all different angles, backhand, slow, roller, forehand, double plays, feeds and pivots. And he really looked good. … And he took some swings off the machine and BP, and just got through sitting down with him and feels good. And unless something, you know, unfortunate happens, we expect him to be in there tomorrow, but we just have to see how he recovers from today, which is a pretty extensive workout. But he looked fantastic.”

Bogaerts has been sidelined since the foul ball off his foot on Aug. 27. The Padres are 10-12 over that stretch.

Here is how the Brewers will line up to start a three-game series:

Division champs in the house

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: @620wtmj#ThisIsMyCrew x @nicoletlaw pic.twitter.com/7RmDo6rTjP

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) September 22, 2025

David Morgan’s progress

On in the injured list with shoulder inflammation, right-hander David Morgan could return from the injured list as soon as Wednesday. He threw three bullpens, the last in Chicago on Friday, before flying to Arizona for a live batting practice on Sunday at the Padres’ spring training complex.

Morgan was placed on the 15-day injured list on Sept. 12 (retroactive to Sept. 9) after fatigue crept into his shoulder following the team’s last trip to Coors Field.

Morgan took just two days off from throwing before beginning to ramp back up.

Consider it a necessary break in the converted infielder’s busiest year as a pitcher yet.

“I just it was a couple days (off),” said Morgan, who threw a career-high 60 ⅔ innings last year and was up to 59 ⅓ innings this year between his time in the minors and majors when the Padres decided to give him the break. “I was kind of playing catch through the first day (after Colorado) and I was able to throw, but it was just kind of baggy. I didn’t want to push anything too far. So take a couple days.”

Monday’s pitching matchup

Brewers RHP Freddy Peralta (17-6, 2.65 ERA)

An All-Star this year for the second time, his 17 wins are a career high and the most in the NL. He is five strikeouts shy of a third straight 200-strikeout season, while his ERA is nearly a run below his career ERA (3.58). Peralta has allowed on run or less in seven of his last eight starts (1.43 ERA). He threw six shutout innings at the Padres at Petco Park in early June in a no-decision and has a 2.86 ERA in 22 career innings against the Padres (6 games, 3 starts).

Here is how Peralta has fared against current Padres:

Padres RHP Nick Pivetta (13-5, 2.81 ERA)

He failed to complete five innings in his last start for the first time in 15 starts (2.05 ERA), although he’d allowed just three solo homers in 4⅔ innings when the Padres turned to the bullpen to finish off a win in New York. Pivetta has a 9.95 ERA in four starts against the Brewers (19 IP), the last in 2024 (3⅓ IP, 5 ER).

Here is how Pivetta has fared against current Brewers: