The San Diego Padres have a lot of work to do when it comes to figuring out their starting rotation. At the top of it, they have veterans Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove. After that, many of the names are question marks.
Right-hander Michael King will likely be in the rotation after arriving from the New York Yankees in the Juan Soto trade. He has big-league experience, but most of it has come as a relief pitcher, casting doubt on whether he can handle a starting pitcher's innings workload over a full season.
Beyond King, the Padres' rotation is fairly inexperienced.
New manager Mike Shildt revealed the team might not have everything finalized within their rotation by the time the opening series starts against the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are set to play two games in Korea against Los Angeles as part of the Seoul Series.
“We have to have a pretty good idea, clearly. … We’ll figure it out. There’s competition to it. We’ll come to a decision soon, but maybe not before camp breaks.”
Keeping both Darvish and Musgrove healthy is priority number one for this team. They're the obvious choices to start the two games in Seoul. As long as both pitchers are healthy, Shildt doesn't need to plot out a full starting rotation until the Padres kick off their domestic schedule March 28.
In the long term, the Padres have no shot at being competitive without Darvish and Musgrove anchoring their rotation. Shildt has a ton of arms at his disposal, but a healthy competition among the other qualified candidates in camp would ease concerns about the rotation's depth.
San Diego could use a six-man rotation as well, to help alleviate any fatigue concerns with their veterans. For now, the Padres have time to get everything in order, but the clock is ticking.
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