Padres Daily: Rotation equation with King likely on verge of return; playing time; very Croney

Good morning from Phoenix,

That was pretty straightforward.

The Padres lost to the Diamondbacks last night because their starting pitcher was not effective.

You can read in my game story (here) about JP Sears’ Padres debut, as well as how Padres hitters could not find a way to do much against Brandon Pfaadt or two relievers.

Now, after Yu Darvish starts tonight, we will see what Nestor Cortes does in his first start with the team tomorrow.

The Padres padded the back end of their starting rotation at the trade deadline with left-handers Sears and Cortes.

They are the veterans the team decided to lean on rather than stick with Randy Vásquez and after Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek were sent to to Kansas City in exchange for Freddy Fermin.

Soon, there will almost certainly be a decision to make about which one stays in the rotation.

Because another addition — or rather, a reintroduction — is imminent.

It appears Michael King’s rehab assignment could be one-and-done, and he could start as soon as this weekend at Petco Park against the Red Sox.

“There’s a really good chance – not going to put it in pen, but we’ll put it in dark pencil — he’s got a good chance for his next start to be for the Padres big-league club,” manager Mike Shildt said.

That is a rare allowance regarding anything significant by Shildt, who guards information about his team as well as (or better than) the Pentagon guards war plans. So it strongly suggests the team is leaning toward activating King this week.

Other team sources indicated before Shildt spoke to the media that it was possible King makes just the one rehab start but that a final decision had not been made.

King has been out since mid-May with a nerve impingement near his right (throwing) shoulder.

He ranked fifth in the National League in ERA (2.59) and strikeouts per nine innings (10.35) and sixth in WHIP (1.02) when he went on the injured list. The Padres anticipate his return will provide a significant boost, a bit like getting a frontline starter at the trade deadline.

There does remain a thought by some in the organization, however, that King could use another start in the minors to refine the sharpness of his pitches. He threw 61 pitches Sunday for Triple-A El Paso, 34 of them strikes, while allowing four hits (two of them home runs), walking one and striking out five.

Whenever King returns, the Padres will have six experienced starters.

They don’t need that many starters very often (if at all) the rest of the regular season and won’t need more than four to actually start games in the postseason.

But they could go with six starters during a stretch of 13 games in 13 days that begins on Aug. 15 and/or a 10-game stretch in September.

One of the two starters they added at the deadline was an attempt to provide more certainty with less stress than Vásquez. The other starter was acquired essentially to provide insurance in the event of injury or a complication in King’s comeback or other contingency.

The decision about which is which won’t come until the middle of the month, at the earliest. It could wait until late August, after the 13-game stretch.

But if all goes according to plan — i.e., no injuries — there will at some point likely be a choice between Sears and Cortes.

One could head to the bullpen. Sears also has options remaining and could be sent down.

It is good to have choices, though it would be better that neither has another start like last night.

Remember, Vásquez started six consecutive victories before losing in his final start Saturday. He was handled carefully, yes. But he also gave up more than four runs just four times in 22 starts.

The job of a pitcher at the back end of the rotation is to give his team a chance to win.

Sears did not do that last night.

He figures to get at least a couple more chances to show that he can.

Playing time

Gavin Sheets was in the starting lineup last night for the first time since Wednesday.

The three games without starting comprised the longest stretch on the bench for Sheets since the first week of May.

Shildt decided it was time to go with Sheets last night, in part, because he was 1-for-3 with a home run against Pfaadt in a game last month.

“It’s a combination,” Shildt said. “He hadn’t played in three games and he’s done damage against (Pfaadt). And, you know, he is a contributing member of the team. We gotta keep guys going.”

Sheets was 0-for-2 with a walk before Jose Iglesias pinch-hit for him in the eighth inning.

Sheets serving as designated hitter put Ryan O’Hearn on the bench. (O’Hearn hit a fly ball out pinch-hitting for catcher Freddy Fermin in the sixth inning.)

Fermin started a third straight game, which is the longest stretch by a Padres catcher since Elias Díaz regularly caught three in a row in May before Martín Maldonado began catching slightly more frequently than Díaz until being designated for assignment when Fermin was acquired.

It is likely Díaz catches Darvish tonight and Nick Pivetta on Friday with Fermin catching Cortes in between.

“I love the fact that we have a deeper team,” Shildt said. “And when you have a deeper team, it requires open-mindedness for all the players, which we have in our bullpen and our position players. They just want to win.”

While glad for the addition of O’Hearn and left fielder Ramón Laureano, which they know made their lineup and their bench deeper, multiple teammates have expressed some sadness over Sheets having lost his starting job after his significant contributions throughout the year.

But remember what Sheets said the day after the trade deadline?

“Obviously, things will change a little bit, but the way I’m gonna go about my business will be the exact same,” he said. “… Winning baseball is the most fun baseball. So whatever it is, whatever that given role is each day, it’s go out and help win a baseball game. It’s the best brand of baseball, and that’s the baseball we’re gonna play now.

“Everybody in here knows that everybody’s roles change a little bit, whether it’s bullpen arms or hitters. But the goal is exactly the same, if not even more pronounced now — it’s to win a World Series, and it’s fun baseball.”

 Very Croney

Jake Cronenworth drove in the Padres’ second run last night with a single.

It was the other way he reached base that continued to make him one of the most unique players in the major leagues.

He was awarded first base in the second inning when his swing hit Diamondback catcher James McCann’s glove. It was the 13th time in his career Cronenworth has reached base via catcher interference, fourth most in the major leagues since 2020.

Cronenworth also ranks in the top 14 since 2020 in triples (sixth with 25), being hit by a pitch (11th with 57) and reaching on an error (14th with 23).

He is the only player to rank in the top 14 in all four categories, which aside from being intentionally walked are the least frequent ways players get on base.

Tidbits

• Luis Arraez’s hitting streak ended at 16 games, a career high, as he went 0-for-3 last night. He did walk, so he extended his on-base streak to 17 games.
• Jackson Merrill drove in a run for the sixth consecutive game, the longest active streak in the major leagues. He has 10 RBIs during the streak.
• Fernando Tatis Jr. was 1-for-4 with a walk last night and is reaching base at a .421 clip over the past 31 games (since June 29).
• Manny Machado was 1-for-4 and has reached base in 12 straight games. He has a .472 on-base percentage during the streak.
• Laureano was 2-for-4 and is 5-for-16 in four games with the Padres.
• Trenton Brooks cleared waivers and has been assigned to Triple-A El Paso.The Granite Hills High graduate hit .146 with a .454 OPS in 25 games with the Padres before being designated for assignment on Thursday. Brooks, 30, had a 1.001 OPS in Triple-A when he was called up June 15.
• Sam Schulz wrote (here) yesterday about the surge prices the city will put into effect next month for street parking downtown during events at Petco Park.
• By the way, I made a small but huge error in yesterday’s newsletter. I wrote King threw 31 pitches in his rehab start Sunday. That would have been some incredible efficiency since he allowed six runs in 3⅓ innings.
• The Padres lost a game in their cushion over the Reds, who won in Chicago, and remained three games behind the Dodgers, who lost at home to the Cardinals.

All right, that’s it for me.

Talk to you tomorrow.