The San Diego Padres will get a big addition to their rotation on Wednesday, as star pitcher Yu Darvish will make his return in his first start since May 30 after spending time on the injured and restricted lists. Darvish’s return comes at a perfect time for the Padres, who just finished a stretch of 18 games in 18 days. They went 10-8 in those games and kept pace with the Arizona Diamondbacks in the battle for the top National League Wild Card spot. With Darvish back in the mix, the Padres get a considerable boost that sets them up perfectly for an important portion of the stretch run.
Padres Star Yu Darvish Makes Timely Return To Reinforce Rotation
San Diego’s hurlers have been a big part of their surprising success in 2024. Despite many injuries that saw Darvish and Joe Musgrove miss significant time, the Padres have sustained their postseason push with Dylan Cease and Michael King anchoring the rotation. Musgrove returned from the injured list a few weeks ago and appears to be in All-Star form already. It took him a couple of outings to find his groove, as caution and pitch count limits prevented him from going above four innings in those first two starts after his IL stint. In his past three starts, however, “No-No Joe” has tossed a combined 19 innings while allowing only three earned runs and collecting 20 strikeouts.
Mike Shildt announces that Yu Darvish will start on Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/UTF5zbja4g
— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) September 3, 2024
Darvish may be in a similar situation to Musgrove’s a few weeks back. It may take him a little while to get back to form, but the team is counting on the fact that he will progress positively and find his rhythm as Musgrove did. Despite any potential setbacks for Darvish as he returns to the rotation, the Padres are happy to have him back. Before his IL stint, Darvish posted a 4-3 record with a 3.20 ERA in 56 1/3 innings pitched. If he can pick up where he left off, the Padres will have one of the best rotations in the NL.
Joe Musgrove’s 7th and 8th Ks pic.twitter.com/lmX5agCpSk
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 3, 2024
A Favorable September For Padres Pitchers
After Monday’s 3-0 Labor Day win over the Detroit Tigers, manager Mike Shildt told the San Diego media that Martín Pérez would follow Darvish and start on Thursday. That spot in the rotation is usually reserved for Michael King, but a favorable schedule in terms of off days allows Shildt to shift his rotation slightly to give much-needed rest to his top arms. The Padres have five off-days in September after only having two in August. The team will provide King with extended rest periods this month by skipping his turn on Thursday. King has already surpassed his total innings pitched in a season, so Shildt and the Padres are opting for caution to ensure that he is well-rested and ready to go in the postseason. King currently ranks fourth on the Padres in fWAR (3.3), underscoring his crucial role in the team’s intense postseason push.
Questions In The Back End Of Rotation
Perhaps the most critical aspect of Darvish’s return is the Padres’ ability to bolster the back end of the rotation, which had been a significant weakness for San Diego recently. Matt Waldron began to struggle mightily after the All-Star break, which led to his demotion to Triple-A on August 22. His replacement, Randy Vásquez, did not do much better. In his two starts as Waldron’s replacement, Vásquez pitched 10 1/3 innings while allowing 11 earned runs. Nine of those runs came on Saturday against the Tampa Bay Rays, and the Padres optioned him to Triple-A El Paso the following day.
With Darvish back, the only remaining question marks are regarding Martín Pérez. The 33-year-old lefty arrived at the trade deadline from the Pittsburgh Pirates and has made six starts with San Diego. Pérez has pitched at least five innings in four of those six starts and has only allowed more than three earned runs once, this past Friday against Tampa Bay (4). Despite his ability to effectively eat up innings, Pérez has recently exhibited control and command issues and arguably has regressed with each start in the past couple of weeks. It remains to be seen how patient the Padres will be with Pérez going forward. If he continues to regress, they may opt to replace him. Extending Bryan Hoeing to a starter role could be an option.
Padres Pitching Can Carry Them To October
As long as the Padres’ top pitchers remain healthy, the team is in prime position to secure the top NL Wild Card spot. The Cease-Musgrove-Darvish-King combination can go toe-to-toe with any other rotation in the NL, which is why San Diego is well-prepared to make a deep postseason run. Making the cut is the first step, though. Catching the NL West-leading Dodgers looks very difficult at this point. Still, with Yu Darvish’s return, stars like Manny Machado, Jackson Merrill, and now a healthy Fernando Tatis Jr., the Padres have enough firepower to earn a postseason spot and make some noise once they get in.
Photo Credit: © Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Images
