Wil Myers will need more than a day or two to get back in the lineup this time.
The Padres on Wednesday placed their 27-year-old outfielder on the 10-day disabled list with right arm irritation. The expectation is that a minimal stay on the shelf will allow both that injury and the back tightness that's dogged Myers in recent weeks to calm down enough to allow him a healthy finish to the season.
"It's nice to let things rest," Myers said. "I can get my arm right. I can get my back right. Then when I come back, I'm fully healthy and full refreshed."
Myers was pulled from Monday's game _ after he hit his first homer of the season _ with what was believed to be a muscular issue in his right triceps. Upon a closer look with an arm specialist, Myers said he learned that an out-of-place nerve made him feel as if "a lightning bolt" was shooting through his arm on throws and during his swing.
Myers also missed one game in spring training with a sore arm that cropped up during outfield throwing drills. He said Wednesday that the current arm issue was not related to transitioning from first base to the outfield _ to accommodate Eric Hosmer's arrival _ as he missed a game last year with a similar injury.
"I don't know exactly how this happened," said Myers, who had started 303 games the last two years at first base. "I just know one throw and a couple swings I had really set it off. This has nothing to do with because I'm throwing now in the outfield. It's just a fluke thing. I had it last year. This has nothing to do with the outfield."
Myers hopes his current stay on the disabled list is short enough to avoid a minor league rehab stint. He will take a few days off from throwing and swinging but plans to track pitches _ velocity and spin _ during down time that will also allow him to rest his back.
Before the arm injury popped up, Myers was pulled during the second game of the season with a tightness in his lower back and missed Saturday's game altogether.
"I think what's best is to give it a few days to get back to where it needs to go," said Myers, who is 3-for-12 with a homer to start 2018. "It's early in the season. I feel like for me if I can get these days to get this right, to get my back right, to finish the last 148-49 games completely healthy is the right move."
