Padres News: Bob Melvin Skipping Rich Hill in the Rotation

The veteran will have to wait a little longer.

After trading for him at the deadline, the Padres haven't exactly gotten the best out of lefty starter Rich Hill in their playoff push. 

Friars' skipper Bob Melvin mentioned that amidst Hill's own struggles, the team would skip his next start in what he thinks will give the team the best chances to win in the upcoming stretch of games. 

“I just like the way these guys are pitching right now,” Melvin said. “This time of year and where we are, you know, even if it’s incremental, you’ve got to give yourself what you feel like is your best shot.”

via Kevin Acee, San Diego Tribune

Since becoming a Padre, the journeyman Hill hasn't exactly given the team a large amount of confidence in his abilities given his recent performances for the club. 

Through three starts with the team, Hill has only cleared the five inning threshold once against the Diamondbacks with his other two performances failing to get out of the fourth. 

Baseball's oldest pitcher this season has compiled an ERA over 9 in his time with the Padres and Melvin clearly saw reason to bypass his services even if he was scheduled for this week. 

Hill's overall season hasn't been great either. Despite the thought that his performance would improve out of Pittsburgh, Hill's performance as a Pirate was better than his showing back to Southern California. 

A bargain that simply hasn't paid off for GM AJ Preller, it's another sign of a down year from their previous NLCS appearance that feels like an eternity ago. 

Even if Melvin won't look at the standings for his underperforming roster, such a move indicates that he knows the team isn't up to scratch in recent weeks. 

Aggressive as it may be, many fans at Petco wonder if it's another instance of too little too late for their season.