By: @PadresConnect. 5/16/2022
Pictured: Padres starting pitcher Nick Martinez hurling a 2 seam fastball towards home plate during the 2022 MLB Season.
The only constant in life is change. Usually, such a phrase is uttered when you're starting a new job, moving away, or in this case, when your favorite baseball team is moving two of their starters to the bullpen to make space for players coming off the injury list.
Is this move an embarrassment of riches or a Padres plea to shape up a bullpen that has been as inconsistent as your golf swing? The answer lies somewhere in between the two scenarios.
This weekend the Padres announced Mackenzie Gore will skip his next scheduled start in Philadelphia and be made available out of the bullpen. Additionally, offseason acquisition Nick Martinez is also being moved to the bullpen. This leaves the Padres with a current rotation of (in no order):
-Yu Darvish
-Sean Mannaea
-Joe Musgrove
-Mike Clevinger
-Blake Snell
The moves came once it was announced both Snell and Clevinger had successfully completed their rehab assignments and had been taken off the IL. At the time of the move, Gore was sporting a 2.42 ERA in 26 innings with Martinez a less stellar 4.40 ERA in 30 innings of work.
Of course, the plague of the 2021 Padres was their lack of pitching depth and now it seems the team has an abundance of arms.
The Padres, to this point in the season, lead the Majors with a combined 18 quality starts. A quality start is defined as start in which the pitcher pitches 6 innings or more while allowing 3 runs or less.
While the Padres rotation has been the pure bred show dog of the organization, the bullpen has been closer to the dog with the lazy eye who can't help but chew on its own leg.
Coming into Monday, the Padres bullpen has given up lead after lead (most recently during Mannaea's start in this past weekends series against the Braves) and the Padres are hoping their abundance of starting pitching can help bridge the gap and solidify the 'pen until Drew Pomeranz and others are ready to contribute.
In a world where pitching is often at a premium, the Padres have a "good problem" in terms of their abundance of arms.
What to Look for in the Coming Weeks
With Martinez and Gore in the bullpen fold, expect to see acting manager Ryan Christensen to play around with the roles of the relievers. The situation is very fluid in front of closer Taylor Rogers with Luis Garcia, Robert Suarez, and Steven Wilson all having their share of struggles early on. Nothing is off the table for those set up roles so expect to see some much needed tinkering (Nabil Crismatt has entered the chat).
Expect the Padres to ease Snell and Clevinger back into the rotation. It wouldn't be wise to expect either of those two to see heavy usage and a lot of innings so early after returning from injury. With this in mind, there is immediate value to Martinez and Gore as the proverbial long men in the bullpen (didn't mean to rhyme but not mad about it).
Lastly, it is no secret that the Padres need an outfield bat (or two, or twenty). And, as we know, in order to improve an area of weakness a team often has to deal from an area of strength which, as we've discussed, the Padres have in their pitching depth. Padres fans shouldn't expect the Friars to make it to the offseason with all 7 of these arms as starting pitching options.
After all, if the Padres reach the heights they are aiming for (the playoffs), then 3 starters are needed at most. Which leaves a lot of room for AJ Preller and co. to play with.
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