What Could the Padres Starting Rotation Look Like in 2024?

The Padres should still have a good starting rotation in 2024.

After a disappointing 2023 season, the San Diego Padres need to improve. In 2023, the Padres had an excellent pitching staff. Their starting rotation will look vastly different in 2024 from 2023.

Since their best starter, Blake Snell —who probably is the National League Cy Young Award winner — is a free agent, the Padres will need a new starting ace. Snell would like to re-sign with the Padres, but the Padres want to shed salary, and probably won’t be able to afford him.

Seth Lugo is likely to opt out of his contract with the Padres, and Michael Wacha and Nick Martinez probably will be gone, too.

Yu Darvish is coming off an elbow injury but will be back. At 37, he won’t be the Padres’ ace. He needs to be serviceable if the Padres will be competitive. However, with his advanced age, Darvish may struggle with staying healthy.

Joe Musrove also has a shoulder problem. He'll be able to pitch, and assuming he gets back to full health, will be a solid starter.

Matt Waldron, a rookie, could be set to join the Padres’ starting rotation. He pitched in eight games and started six of them. He had a 4.35 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 41.1 innings. He probably will have growing pains as a young starter, but could be a solid piece.

Like most teams, the Padres don’t know what their starting rotation will look like in 2024. They need to add starters or keep either Snell or Lugo to be competitive in the tough National League West division. While the Padres have announced they won’t spend as wildly as they did in the 2022-2023 offseason, they for sure need to spend on starting pitching.