July 7: San Diego officially reinstated Darvish from the 60-day IL. Lefty Kyle Hart was optioned to Triple-A El Paso to make room on the active roster. To clear the necessary 40-man roster spot, the Friars moved Michael King from the 15-day to the 60-day IL.
It’s a procedural move for King. The 60-day count backdates to his original IL placement, which was retroactive to May 22. He’ll technically be eligible to return two weeks from now. King won’t be ready by then anyhow as he works back from a nerve issue in his throwing shoulder. He has made progress, however, as the team revealed this evening that he’s set to throw off a mound for the first time on Thursday (relayed by Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune). He’ll need to progress through multiple bullpen and live batting practice sessions before he’s ready to embark on a minor league assignment.
July 6: Yu Darvish is set to make his first big league appearance of 2025, as Padres manager Mike Shildt told reporters (including Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune) that the right-hander will be activated from the 60-day injured list to start Monday’s game with the Diamondbacks. Darvish developed elbow inflammation in the middle of March, and the veteran’s recovery process ended up costing him over half of the season.
The exact nature of Darvish’s progress was kept somewhat vague. Shildt has said the team trusted Darvish to essentially manage his own rehab since the pitcher obviously knows the most about how his arm is feeling, and how much ramp-up work is required. Darvish only pitched in one minor league rehab game back on May 14, though continued soreness in his elbow put his rehab on hold and delayed any plans for a return to the Padres’ rotation.
Acee writes that Darvish tossed two simulated games in the last 12 days, and hit the 64-pitch mark in his most recent outing. This seems to have checked the final box for Darvish to be activated, and he’ll jump right into the deep end in a big NL West matchup. San Diego is four games ahead of 44-46 Arizona in the standings, and the Padres would naturally love to further knock their division rivals further out of wild card contention.
It wouldn’t be surprising if it takes a start or two for Darvish to knock the rust off, but in general, getting a frontline pitcher back is naturally a big plus for the Padres. Even with Darvish out, Michael King to the IL since late May, and Dylan Cease battling through an inconsistent season, San Diego has kept afloat with a makeshift rotation. Nick Pivetta is enjoying a tremendous debut season in a Padres uniform, and Stephen Kolek and Randy Vasquez have held the fort over their starts, despite some shaky peripheral statistics. The Padres’ excellent bullpen has also been instrumental in bolstering the pitching staff as a whole.
2025 will mark Darvish’s 20th professional season, counting his seven years in Nippon Professional Baseball and his 12 previous MLB campaigns. Darvish turns 39 next month but appears to still have plenty left in the tank, as evidenced by the 3.31 ERA he posted over 81 2/3 frames for the Padres last season (and his 1.98 ERA in 13 2/3 playoff innings). As Acee notes, Darvish has been bothered by elbow problems throughout his time in San Diego, and both the pitcher and the team are focused on having him healthy and ready for the playoff stretch and throughout October.
And so it begins…
Yu outta know!
Maybe Darvish and Snell had time to catch a movie together?
Gwynning, Good news for the Pads. I’ve always liked Yu. Not you I mean, Yu. Well, I actually like you too, but I just wanted to talk about Yu. Not you, Yu.
Yu too? Ok, Yu got me confused…
Your G-men are playing up, good luck ROS Jean!
Yu!
Whooo are Yu?
Come on tell us who are you….who…who.
I really wanna know
Hopefully some goods on king sooner than later. If they get both of them back the rotation will be pretty good.
Can then focus on catcher, LF/DH spot.
Or not have Tatis and Manny strike out with Bog ground out with bases loaded in the 9th down 3.
LF with Sheets isn’t a problem. C – they manage the staff well apparently so, don’t want to give that up. They both have their moments – one of them walked last night in the 9th before the aforementioned 3 outs.
Merrill and Manny struck out in 1st again they didn’t score with bases loaded again
And again in 3rd
Good to see Tatis get a 2 out RBI
Shouldn’t use again two cabin the same sentence
Sounds like you’re enjoying your time at the cabin
Brew88: Every team does that quite often, or haven’t you noticed?
But Padre are 29th in MLB in BA with RISP, in case you didn’t know
Brew88: And the Dodgers are first at .297, which means they fail more than 70% of the time.
As I said, every team fails quite often.
That’s like saying the difference between Aaron Judge and Padres C Elias Diaz is negligible because they both fail at a high rate. Okay, nice chatting…
Sheets is doing fine in LF. Bring up Campusano to play DH.
Padres downhill ever since they shipped Soto. They haven’t made good deals since then and it’s shown. No clue about this team
I didn’t realize Pivetta was having as good of a season as he is until i clicked his BR link. Good for him
2 maybe 3 “bad” starts, and pretty sure it was raining for one of um. Pivetta’s been awesome, too bad Cease is slacking.
Pivetta might still get to the AS game if a SP backs out with injury (reasonable chance this happens)
Joe Ryan got snubbed too, over in the AL.
Brew88: Like Chris Sale perhaps.
@Blue Baron. Suarez was the injury replacement for Sale. I would have chosen Pivetta, who shutout the Dbacks tonite
Suarez certainly deserves it
He is extreme. He either does really good or really bad. Get used to Pivetta having an ERA in the low 4’s. That’s where he generally is career-wise.
Musgrove had similar early career stats, until he came to SD and worked Ruben Niebla.
This is great news hopefully king back soon.
Who would of thought that Padres fans would be clamoring for Ryan Bergert. With King, Dharvish and Bergert healthy, Padres have a plethora of SP depth, albeit two fives (Kolek and Vasquez). But Bergert could move into four territory, a couple threes in Cease and Dharvish, a two in Pivetta and an Ace in King.
I’d say more than anything the Padres need a lock it down bullpen arm and an OF that can hit. Mike Tauchman is having a heck of a season in Chicago and Cam Booser is a nice lefty in the bullpen to replace a struggling Yuki Matsui. Add Luis Robert to that deal and you probably don’t have to send over much if you take all of Roberts remaining contract.
Boston Bateman, Manuel Castro and Francis Pena should do it. It would be a good trade for both teams. Sox might do better but Bateman is a nice prospect and getting Robert’s contract off the books is worth sending Tauchman.
Bergert has a 2.67 ERA
Vasquez has a 3.79 ERA
Kolek has a 4.24 ERA
MLB average for SP is 4.10 ERA
None of them has been a #5.
Sheets is playing LF. The other two starters are Tatis and Merrill. No need there.
Padres bullpen is 5th in MLB and the closer leads the league in saves.
There is a reason that no one pays much attention to your posts. You have no clue what the heck you are talking about. We can be fairly certain that if you said it, its wrong.
I like the trade, all but the 7M on Robert’s deal but otherwise it’s close on being a good trade.
I’m also certain that Kolek and Vasquez are both fives.
Matsui hasn’t looked that good lately and Cam Booser has a nice fastball, is well rested and is a pretty good lefty out of the bullpen. He was our closer heading into the season. If he is getting healthy and can throw a couple good bullpens he’s worth a look.
If I’m not mistaken, and I could be mistaken, the Padres aren’t exactly running up the score on anybody. A good role for Robert off the bench as a pinch hitter / pinch runner with a spot start once a week and Tauchman getting everyday at bats in the OF or at DH. It’s expensive at 7M, maybe the Sox send some cash too.
Of course the 29 year old Brooks could be a better hitter than Tauchman, he has hit a few homers in PCL but Tauchman has 1500 big leagues at bats and is hitting .284 this season with a .367 OBP, not bad, and he is a stout player, he has a little more power to his game than his numbers reflect. I’d prefer Tauchman to Brooks.
Booser’s health might be a concern, he hasn’t pitched since the middle of June but assuming he is good to go health wise, he’s well rested, I like Booser, he sits 97 with the fastball, has a decent sweeper.
Bateman is a bull. Id like to see the White Sox get him if possible.
We are all certain you have no clue.
the one player you have to check with, if the Padres liked that deal from the Sox, is Gavin Sheets, if Sheets doesn’t want to play next to Robert, and its likely he doesn’t, then Robert can’t be part of that deal. But Tauchman and Booser are good players and both a good fit for the Padres.
I see them going in another direction.
Boston Bateman looks like a good prospect, Im a White Sox fan, Id like to get Bateman off the Padres but they’d be smart to keep him.
I think Bateman is your best prospect.
bwmiller79: “I’d say more than anything the Padres need a lock it down bullpen arm and an OF that can hit.”
You just described what maybe 10 other teams need as well. They’d better be ready to pay through the nose.
Padres need neither of those two things. They have a LF that can hit. His name is Gavin Sheets. The other two OF are Tatis and Merrill. They have a lock down bullpen which is 5th in MLB, a closer that leads baseball in saves, and two setup men with ERA’s under 2.00.
Can BW possibly say anything that is more off base? Want to know how you can be absolutely sure that a comment is wrong? BW typed it. Also, how often is he going to change his team allegiance? Its a new team every other week.
@web We are all certain you and Pads Fans are the same guy.
bwmiller79
I’m also certain that Kolek and Vasquez are both fives.
=======================
Decent chance that neither are #5’s. Kolek is the equivalent of a 28 year old rookie. Good start but a 6.23/4.59 ERA/FIP over his past 5 starts. He might qualify as a #5.
Vazquez has one of the worst K-BB% I’ve ever seen. With pitchers with at least 40 IPs, he is 217 our of 217, and not remotely close to #216.
Would have been nice if they could have lined this up for Yu to pitch Sunday, but I get that they can’t always control that with the throwing program. Could be rough for the bullpen if this Morgan/Hart opener/bulk guy situation goes poorly and then they have a limit for Darvish tomorrow
I still haven’t heard why Cease didn’t throw on regular rest…
Because he was tired of giving up eight hits and five earned?
It’s July – when a pending FA with trade value skips a scheduled start that usually means one thing. Especially one that has been rumored to be traded for z6 months. Especially, with Yu coming back?
Or maybe he just wasn’t feeling well?
I speculated just bonus rest with only one more start pre-ASB, dunno!
Highest percentage guess, I’d say.
Odds of AJ making a trade in next 3 weeks?
80/20?
Extra day for Cease but maybe more about slotting Darvish precisely on the day he’s ready. Bothe get 2 starts before AS break anyway
Brew for the win.
A trade? Gotta be like 99/1 at least.
I highly doubt Cease gets another start pre-ASB… .394s on me if I’m wrong!
Hopefully not! I’m actually starting to think it would be best to trade him / save or reallocate the 6-7 mil, pick up a prospect of whatever value.
He is not sharp and at times liked bad last night – or maybe predictable which is still bad with mlb bats.
If it can be, King, Pivetta, Yu, Vasquez, Bergert with Kolek and Waldron as depth could get us to playoffs if bats just come back to life to match the backs of their cards.
Maybe buy and sell – get that DH / LF bat and dump Cease to save cash.
At start of year, projected only a little over the tax line so saving 6-7 mil could be worthwhile.
All depends on conversations and pieces discussed but I’m open to the idea right now.
3 months ago I was full on no trade of King and Cease.
Preller has only ever sold at the deadline in 2016 even though he frankly should have most years so what makes you think he would even consider trading Cease when the Padres actually ARE contending and don’t exactly have a surplus of starting pitchers?
3.69 FIP which is 29th. 3.41 SIERA which is 16th. 5th in K/9 and 7th in K%. 12th in K-BB%. Cease is doing his part and pitching like a TOR starting pitcher.
On the other side of the equation, he has a .320 BABIP and the Padres defense has a -11 DRS when he is on the mound. The huge difference, 1.18 points, between his ERA and FIP indicates the problem is mostly on the field behind him and not in his pitching.
Web – all that new age stat stuff says what about 3 HR’s crushed last night for 6 runs – 2 of which were in walks before the GS?
This isn’t the first game that he has had walks and HRs be a problem.
Ace what?
Mostly he is giving runs on hits that came AFTER the infield blew outs. If you don’t understand the stats, don’t comment on them.
I watched the game and none of that happened last night so, if what actually happens in the game doesn’t matter, we’ll have fun with your stats.
Understanding the equation of how the stat is determined does not mean you have to make your decisions based on that understanding.
I saw 2 solo shots where defense did not cost him an out.
I saw 2 walks and a single and a GS where the defense did not cost him an out.
So, all you got is deflecting with “if you don’t understand the stats don’t comment on them”?
There were no missed outs that applied last night so I ask again, how do your stats account for what happened last night?
Answer: they don’t apply and they can’t lessen the effect of a pitcher walking 2 guys (all by himself throwing balls a foot off the plate) and giving up hard contact to the seats.
Campusano was taken out of the opening lineup yesterday. Anyone hear if he is on his way to SD?
Haven’t heard anything. Maybe traded.
PF- He’s not on the next plane or anything, but I didn’t hear why he was scratched from DH… who would he be coming up for anyway? Active Roster is “healthy”
He didn’t play again tonight and was not in the dugout for Chihuahuas game in Albuquerque. He wasn’t traded so hurt?
Perhaps a bout of the Albuquerque upchuck
He flew to San Diego and back to El Paso today without playing in a game. Wondering if he flew to SD to have an injury looked at.
Well ain’t that the nuts
Campusano went to SD to have the Padres training staff look at his thumb, have an MRI, then went back to Chihuahuas and proceeded to go 3 for 7 with a HR, a DBL, and 1 BB in games on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Guess its ok because he is raking. .321/.440/.617/1.057 with 14 HR in just over 200 PA for El Paso. Not sure what else they want him to do.
I wonder if Yu will be throwing his regular 8 variations of pitches or if he’s going to keep it simple and just stick to three pitches as he ramps up? I’m not being facetious, Yu likes to keep it interesting lol
This came out of left field to me. Wasn’t expecting to see Yu back, with the dearth of information around him. This should offer a spark to the team.
This is good news. The Pads have a great team. They just need clutch situational hitting, they’ll be fine.
Darvish is a good guy. Glad to see him getting healthy, even if it is for the Padres lol.
@Another. I’ll say the same ( with same caveat) for your Blake Snell
Pobres are really going to benefit from the 6 starts & 23 1/3ish innings they’re going to get from Yu the Savior
Just in time for a third place finish!
It’s an arms race. Even if he only goes a couple innings per start it’ll help out a tired bullpen…
I give him 2 starts then back on vacation.
Where’s the joker who demanded evidence and accused me of being a fake insider a month ago when I said King wouldn’t be back until at least the All Star break?
Who really cares?
His Mom…hopefully
I do, durrrrrrrrr
I suppose that’s reason enough
:::::Schwarbs on the Western swing