Padres Shuffle Rotation for Postseason; Who Will Start Game 1?

The Padres have changed their rotation for the final games of the regular season.

Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images

The San Diego Padres are switching up their rotation for the final two games of the regular season in preparation for postseason play. Michael King will not make a start this weekend as he would normally be scheduled to do, which likely means the Padres plan to start him during the wildcard round of the playoffs.

King last started for the Padres on Tuesday, when he helped San Diego earn a 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers to clinch their return to the playoffs. King pitched an excellent game, allowing three hits, two walks, and no earned runs over five innings.

With King out for the weekend, the Padres are calling up Randy Vásquez to start on Saturday, and Martín Pérez will start on Sunday, via AJ Cassavell. Vásquez returns to the Padres for his first appearance since Aug. 31. He started 19 games for the Padres this season, primarily filling in when starters Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish were out for much of the summer. Vásquez went 4-7 with a 5.18 ERA and 58 strikeouts in those starts.

Randy Vásquez will be called up to start tomorrow, with Martín Pérez to start Sunday’s regular-season finale. (How long will he go? Idk, but that might determine whether he’s on the Wild Card Series roster.)

Presumably, Michael King being saved for a Wild Card Series start.

— AJ Cassavell (@AJCassavell) September 28, 2024

The Padres have two remaining games against the Arizona Diamondbacks, before preparing for the playoffs. Yu Darvish started for the Padres during their 5-3 win over the Diamondbacks Friday, and Darvish, Joe Musgrove, Dylan Cease, and King are expected to start for San Diego during the postseason. The Padres have yet to announce who will start Game 1.

Darvish and Musgrove are the most experienced options, but Cease and King have been available all season. Darvish is the Padres' overall top pitcher, but Musgrove is their lone starter who has pitched for a World Series-winning team before.

Regardless of who they start, the Padres have a rotation to feel confident and can't necessarily go wrong. There is always the possibility of a pitcher having a down game, but the Padres overall have four strong options to turn to this October, a luxury many other teams likely envy.

San Diego is currently slated to face the Atlanta Braves in the wildcard round, which could change depending on the final results of the season this weekend. The Padres have faced the Braves six times this season, going 3-3 against Atlanta. Of the Padres pitchers expected to start against the Braves, only Darvish and Cease made starts against the Braves this season.