Padres News: Rotation Could Include Struggling Starters, Says Mike Shildt

The Padres rotation will look very different this time around.

The San Diego Padres are still looking to finalize their starting rotation plans for the upcoming season, but manager Mike Shildt confirmed that it may not be done until after camp finishes. San Diego has multiple arms to work with, but they want to field the best possible starters in the rotation.

However, it may need to include some players struggling early in Spring Training. This includes Randy Vasquez and Pedro Avila, who have seen trouble so far. 

Alongside Vasquez and Avila are Jhony Brito and Matt Waldron, with all four pitchers jockeying for positions. Vasquez has an ERA of 6.23 in 8.2 innings, while Avila has an ERA of 9.82 in 7.1 innings

Each pitcher hopes to separate themselves in the rotation, and Shildt broke down some more insight into the process, wanting more time to decide.

“There’s still time. It’s part of the evaluation process. Both of them (Avila and Vasquez) have done things really well. There’s some rightful competition for them to break as a starter, and we’ll continue to evaluate as we go, but there’s still some time.”

Postgame reaction.

Mike Shildt discusses today’s lineup, Jake Cronenworth’s offense this Spring, and Randy Vasquez’s start against the Reds. pic.twitter.com/OqemU1Ht5G

— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) March 6, 2024

Brito has looked good in his time with the Padres, so far, posting an ERA of 3.24 over 8.1 innings of work. After coming over from the New York Yankees this offseason, Brito has been showing out.

The same goes for Waldron, who has an ERA of 1.00 over 9.0 innings this spring. Both have made their cases, but it's still too early to tell what will happen.

Shildt also mentioned that the Padres could use a long-reliever this season, adding more flexibility to the mix. Either way, the Padres rotation will look much different than it did a year ago while hoping for similar results.