PADRE NOTEBOOK / BOB NIGHTENGALE : Harris is Expected to Be Activated

Padre starter Greg Harris is expected to be activated this weekend and will start Wednesday against the Chicago Cubs during the Padres’ upcoming home stand. He’ll replace rookie Frank Seminara in the starting rotation, who probably will be optioned to triple-A Las Vegas.

“We’ll probably have some kind of announcement (today),” Padre Manager Greg Riddoch said.

Harris, who has pitched only two innings since May 31 because of back spasms and a broken index finger, has been successful in his rehabilitative assignment. He struck out 10 batters and allowed only four hits in eight innings Tuesday for triple-A Las Vegas, beating Tacoma, 2-1.

In Harris’ three rehab starts, he has a 0.42 ERA, allowing 10 hits and one earned run in 21 1/3 innings. He also has struck out 20 and issued only two walks.

“He’s been outstanding,” Riddoch said. “Everything’s working for him.”

Said Padre starter Craig Lefferts, remembering that Harris still has three screws in his broken finger: “We’re all going to want to have them now.”

The Padres want Seminara (6-3) to return to Las Vegas so that he doesn’t get stale. He has not started a game since Aug. 8 because of the Padres’ off-days and a rainout.

Bonds on the return of Harris to the Padre rotation: “If he ever puts it all together one season, with the stuff he has, he’s a 20-game winner. He can win the Cy Young, easy.”

The Padre organization received a severe blow when they learned that outfielder/first baseman Dave Staton will have to undergo surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder.

Staton, who probably would have been one of the Padres’ September call-ups, injured the shoulder several weeks ago while making a throw from the outfield. Although the Padres hoped it was nothing more than a strained shoulder, a magnetic resonance imaging test revealed the torn muscle.

Staton was batting .281 with a team-high 19 homers and 76 RBIs, and a whopping .510 slugging percentage. In comparison, no other player on the team has more than nine homers.

“He was really learning how to hit,” Las Vegas Manager Jim Riggleman said recently. “He made himself into a hitter this year, and not just a home run hitter.”