The Padres have weathered their shaky early-season rotation to conclude April with a strong 19-11 record. Their starting pitching group should improve within the next couple weeks, which could lead to some decisions for the front office.<\/p>\n
Griffin Canning<\/a> seems assured of a rotation spot once he\u2019s back from last summer\u2019s ACL tear. Canning has taken five rehab starts with Triple-A El Paso. He got to five innings and 68 pitches on Tuesday. Pitchers can spend up to 30 days on a minor league rehab assignment. Canning began his rehab work on April 4. He could make one more Triple-A start but should be activated by the beginning of next week.<\/p>\n Lucas Giolito<\/a> isn\u2019t too far behind. The righty consented to an optional assignment to build up after signing a one-year deal<\/a> on April 22. That came with the stipulation that he be recalled within 25 days. He\u2019ll be on the MLB roster by the middle of May at the latest. Giolito made his second start with Low-A Lake Elsinore tonight, building to 70 pitches over 4 1\/3 frames. He may not need the full 25-day window.<\/p>\n None of San Diego\u2019s current five starters can be optioned.\u00a0Michael King<\/a> isn\u2019t going anywhere, and\u00a0Randy V\u00e1squez<\/a> has nailed down his spot with an excellent April.\u00a0Walker Buehler<\/a>,\u00a0Germ\u00e1n M\u00e1rquez<\/a>, and\u00a0Matt Waldron<\/a> are the three pitchers trying to hold rotation spots.<\/p>\n M\u00e1rquez will take the ball tomorrow to open a weekend series against the White Sox. King and V\u00e1squez round out that set. The Friars have not yet listed probable starters for next week\u2019s road series in San Francisco \u2014 which would be Buehler\u2019s and Waldron\u2019s turns if they stay on their current schedule.<\/p>\n Buehler has a 5.40 earned run average through six starts. He\u2019s getting ground-balls but has a modest 7.8% swinging strike rate and has only once gone beyond five innings. M\u00e1rquez will make his sixth start of the year on Friday. He has two scoreless outings but has allowed four runs in each of his three other appearances while struggling with the home run ball.<\/p>\n The knuckleballer Waldron was blown up by the Angels and Rockies in his first two starts of the season. He had a more competitive though unspectacular outing against the Cubs yesterday, giving up three runs over five innings. The out-of-options righty has only fanned eight of 69 opponents (11.6%) since returning from a brief injured list stint.<\/p>\n Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune<\/a> floats the possibility of the Friars going to a six-man rotation or using openers\/tandem starts on days when King doesn\u2019t pitch. They were off today but play on 10 straight days beginning tomorrow. After an off day on May 11, they\u2019ll play nine consecutive games.<\/p>\n Of course, the drawback with a six-man rotation or tandem starts would be the need to drop to a seven-man bullpen. San Diego optioned\u00a0David Morgan<\/a> this evening, per the MLB.com transaction tracker<\/a>. They didn\u2019t announce a corresponding move and seem likely to activate Yuki Matsui<\/a> from his season-opening groin strain tomorrow.\u00a0Jeremiah Estrada<\/a> began a rehab stint this week as well.<\/p>\n The Padres can option\u00a0Kyle Hart<\/a> to clear one active roster spot. Their only other optionable reliever (aside from Mason Miller<\/a>) is hard-throwing rookie\u00a0Bradgley Rodriguez<\/a>, who has a trio of holds and has allowed only three runs across 14 1\/3 innings. He\u2019d be tough to send down. They\u2019ve held the out-of-options\u00a0Ron Marinaccio<\/a> all season. He has allowed 10 runs over 16 2\/3 frames in a low-leverage role.<\/p>\n There\u2019s still no defined timeline on\u00a0Joe Musgrove<\/a> or\u00a0Nick Pivetta<\/a>. The former has yet to resume throwing off a mound after a setback in his recovery from elbow surgery. Pivetta went down with a flexor strain<\/a> a couple weeks ago and might be months off.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Padres have weathered their shaky early-season rotation to conclude April with a strong 19-11 record. 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