NATIONAL LEAGUE Phil Nevin working his way back with Padres

If his rehab goes well, he could be back by July 29.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Forget Phil Nevin's shoulder. It's the rest of his body that's aching right now.
Nevin, rehabilitating from a dislocated left shoulder, is working his way back to game shape with the Triple-A Portland Beavers before rejoining the San Diego Padres.
"Obviously, everybody wants to talk about my shoulder, but I have the normal soreness you'd have five, six days into spring training," Nevin said. "Everything probably is a little bit sore except my shoulder because of all the work that's been done on it."
Nevin injured the shoulder diving for a ball in the outfield during a spring training game against the Chicago White Sox. He had surgery on March 11.
Rehab assignment
Nevin began his rehab assignment with Single-A Lake Elsinore before joining the Beavers on Thursday. He was 0-for-2 and played first base in the opening of a four-game series against Salt Lake. On Friday, he was the team's designated hitter, going 0-for-3.
Nevin will likely remain with the Beavers through an eight-game road trip starting Monday. If all goes well, he'll rejoin the Padres on July 29 in Pittsburgh.
"It always nice to come out and hit a couple of balls hard, but realistically right now I want to see pitches, I want to get in different situations bat-wise," he said. "It's like spring training. It's a slow process, frustrating at times, but you've got to trust yourself that things are going to come back to normal here, soon."
When he returns to the Padres, it won't be as the third baseman, where he's spent most of his time since resurrecting his career in 1999.
Nevin was moved from third base to left field in spring training, the second time he'd vacated third for Sean Burroughs. The 22-year-old Burroughs, in his second big league season, has solidified his hold on the position in Nevin's absence.
Filling a role
Nevin will likely rotate into the Padres' lineup by playing in the outfield and first base. But he said he'd fill in wherever he's needed.
"I went to them and I said, 'This was obviously something that I brought on you guys by getting hurt. I'll fix it by playing everywhere for a while if it makes it easier on you guys, and maybe we'll come up with a good fit by the end of the season and make the offseason acquisitions all that more easy,"' Nevin said.
Padres manager Bruce Bochy said earlier this month that San Diego will immediately benefit when Nevin returns -- no matter what position he plays.
"We're going to score more runs," Bochy said.
Nevin has hit 108 homers and driven in 375 runs in four seasons with the Padres. His best year was 2001, when he hit .306 with 41 homers and 126 RBIs, all career bests, and was named to his first All-Star team.
His numbers fell off last year after he strained his left elbow, then broke his left arm diving for a grounder at third. He hit .285 with 12 homers and 57 RBIs.
The Padres have been in last place in the NL West since April, and after Friday night's 6-0 loss to Arizona were 35-63, 25 games behind San Francisco.