With just 32 plate appearances since July 20 and just two hits in that span, Sung-Mun Song is being optioned to Triple-A El Paso. Left-handed-hitting outfielder Dustin Harris’ contract was purchased from Triple-A El Paso to replace Song on the active roster, with right-hander Lucas Giolito has been moved to the 60-day injured list to open up a spot on the 40-man roster ahead of Monday’s 6:40 p.m. first pitch.

“No reason for (Song) to get sent down, but we wanted to get him more playing time, get his left-handed bat going a little bit,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said. “Felt like he’s been kind of just sitting on the bench here a little bit with our big boys playing the infield and all the off-days coming up. So we’ll get him a chance to play, go down to Triple-A, get a bunch of at-bats, get hot, and then hopefully get him back here.”

The 2-for-26 rut had dropped Song’s batting line to .202/.305/.263 in 134 plate appearances.

Giolito (elbow) hasn’t pitched in the majors since June 21. He’d been rehabbing at the Padres’ spring training complex in Peoria, Ariz., but appeared to hit a wall in his ramp-up.

Harris, 27, signed a minor league deal with the Padres on July 8 after he was released from the White Sox organization. He also opted out of that deal in early August only to return to Triple-A El Paso days later.

Harris was hitting .350/.422/.617 with six homers, 26 RBIs and 10 steals in 29 games with the Chihuahuas.

Harris is a .225/.307/.371 hitter in 89 at-bats across parts of three seasons in the majors with the Rangers, White Sox and Astros.

“He’s been hot in Triple-A,” Stammen said, “so wanted to see what it looks like here in the big leagues and give him an opportunity to play left field for us.”

Toward that end, Harris is in left field and batting ninth for his Padres debut on Monday.

Happy Jackson Merrill Bobblehead Day to all who celebrate. pic.twitter.com/hhsTVzd688

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 24, 2026

With Song headed to Triple-A El Paso, Luis Rengifo — who is not in Monday’s lineup — becomes the primary back-up at second base and third base. Jake Cronenworth will be Xander Bogaerts’ primary backup at shortstop, while Fernando Tatis Jr. is again a last-ditch option at second base.

“Tati’s been playing such a good right field, it’s hard to take him out of there,” Stammen said. “You know, probably only one of those situations if Croney wasn’t able to play, we’d moved guys around in that way.”

Here is how the Pirates (63-69) will line up to start this three-game series:

133/162.

📺: @SNPittsburgh
📷: @937TheFan pic.twitter.com/daBastKIKK

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) August 24, 2026

 

Arms watch

After a day off from throwing, Casey Mize (right ankle) played catch on the field Monday. The off-day on Thursday allows the Padres an extra day to evaluate his progress ahead of his next scheduled start on Friday.

Meantime, right-hander Nick Pivetta (flexor) threw a bullpen on Sunday and will resume a minor league rehab assignment on Tuesday with low Single-A Lake Elsinore at Rancho Cucamonga.

While PIvetta threw in the unofficial bridge league in Arizona on Thursday, he hasn’t pitched in a game since walking off Lake Elsinore’s mound on Aug. 4 with discomfort in his elbow.

“He’s feeling very good right now,” Stammen said. “Feeling a lot better. Very excited about his next opportunity.”

As for Joe Musgrove’s next opportunity, that will come Thursday for Triple-A El Paso for Oklahoma City. He was scheduled to throw over the weekend with El Paso but was held back after tweaking his back while working between starts.

Musgrove threw 70 pitches (47 strikes) over 4⅔ innings with El Paso on Aug. 14. A five-day schedule from Thursday could have Musgrove ready to return to the rotation as soon as Sept. 1, when rosters expand from 26 to 28.

“I feel like I’m ready,” Musgrove said. “You know, so it’s kind of up to them what they want me to get. Obviously, the six innings, 85 pitches or so, which I’m hoping to in this next one. So, I’ve kind of known that I have one more outing at least ahead of me, regardless of what happened (with Mize). … Especially with the way we’re playing, there’s not like this urgent need to rush back right now. We’re so close, so I think they really want to make sure we get it right.”

 

Notable

Tatis was named the NL Player of the Week after hitting .480 with four homers via a pair of two-homer games, 11 RBIs and a 1.040 slugging percentage across six games. His grand-slam-robbing catch was also flagged by the league as the play of the week.

 

Monday’s pitching matchup

Pirates RHP Braxton Ashcraft (13-5, 3.68 ERA)

The second-year starter has pushed his workload from 69⅔ innings last year (2.71 ERA) to 149⅓ innings with about a month left to the season. Ashcraft has allowed two runs over his last two starts (17 IP), fashioning a 14-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He struck out two in a scoreless inning as a reliever in his only appearance last year against the Padres.

Ashcraft has history with two current Padres:

2B Jake Cronenworth (0-for-1, K)
C Freddy Fermin (1-for-1, 2B)

Padres LHP Robbie Ray (11-7, 3.20 ERA)

He’s coming off his first quality start as a Padre (6 IP, 1 ER), although he has walked 11 against 10 strikeouts across three starts (15 IP). Ray has a 4.09 ERA in eight starts in his career against the Pirates, including a win this year (6 IP, 1 ER, 4 BBs, 7 Ks) while with the Giants.

Here is how Ray has fared against current Pirates: