Carlos Quentin Making Padres Debut

When the San Diego Padres traded for Carlos Quentin, they still had designs on being a surprise team in the National League West. Surprise! They're worse than you thought! That probably isn't what they were shooting for.

But on Monday, they'll get Quentin back, which is to say, they'll get Quentin for the first time. The Memorial Day lineup:

#Padres vs. Cubs Mon at Wrigley: Venable CF, Denorfia RF, Alonso 1B, Quentin LF, Headley 3B, Hundley C, Cabrera 2B, Parrino SS, Suppan RHP

— U-T Padres (@sdutPadres) May 28, 2012

Quentin slots right in as the team's cleanup hitter, where he'll probably remain unless he gets hurt again, which is a possibility because he's Carlos Quentin. With the dreams of contention shot, the Padres would probably like to see a streaky Quentin pile up some gaudy stats before the trading deadline.

The Padres have been ravaged by injuries this year, but at least they'll get a piece of the team they thought they were going to have this season.

Carlos Quentin Undergoes Successful Knee Surgery

The San Diego Padres acquired Carlos Quentin from the Chicago White Sox over the offseason in an effort to re-introduce some thunder to the lineup. Quentin was projected to bat in the middle of the order and shoulder a lot of the offensive load. Then Quentin came up with a sore knee in spring training and had to be examined, with the examination revealing a torn meniscus. That means surgery. Quentin has undergone his surgery:

#Padres OF Carlos Quentin had arthroscopic knee surgery (meniscus tear & loose cartilage removal). Expected return 4-6 weeks @scrippshealth

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) March 19, 2012

Quentin was given an initial timetable of 4-6 weeks, before the surgery, so nothing has changed. That's good news, because sometimes surgery can reveal more extensive damage than was thought to be present. As it stands, Quentin will miss the beginning of the regular season, but he won't miss that much time beyond, provided he makes a pretty smooth recovery.

Even without Quentin, the Padres have Cameron Maybin, Will Venable, Mark Kotsay, Kyle Blanks, and Chris Denorfia as outfielders on the 40-man roster. So they should get by all right while Quentin is sidelined.

Carlos Quentin Injury: Padres Outfielder Out With Knee Surgery

The Padres outfielder has a torn meniscus and will miss four to six weeks.