Latest On Padres’ Rotation
The Padres entered camp with Nick Pivetta, Michael King and Joe Musgrove penciled into the top three rotation spots. They felt reasonably confident that Randy Vásquez would claim the fourth starter role. They took a volume approach to the fifth starter job, signing a handful of veterans to cheap free agent deals.
Musgrove is working back from a 2024 Tommy John surgery that wiped out all of last season. King was limited to 15 starts last year by a nerve issue in his shoulder and a knee injury. While King is pitching without any restrictions this spring, the Padres are playing things more cautiously with Musgrove. The righty last pitched in a game on March 4, when he threw 60 pitches in an exhibition game against the British World Baseball Classic team.
Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune writes that Musgrove has thrown one bullpen session within the past week. The Padres are understandably bringing him along slowly and haven’t announced when he’ll make his next game appearance. Both Acee and AJ Cassavell of MLB.com suggest he may not be fully built up by Opening Day.
A brief season-opening injured list stint wouldn’t necessarily represent a setback. The Padres will need to keep an eye on Musgrove’s workload over the course of the season. They have two off days within the first eight days of the regular season, meaning they could theoretically get by with a four-man rotation if Musgrove had a minimal IL stint. The likelier outcome is that they’d turn to one of their depth starters to fill out a five-man starting staff.
That could open an opportunity for Walker Buehler, who is in camp as a non-roster invite. If there’s only one rotation spot available, that’s likelier to go to Germán Márquez. Márquez signed a big league contract and is guaranteed $1.75MM. He’s going to make the team, and the Padres don’t have a ton of roster flexibility in the bullpen to carry him as a long reliever.
Buehler can opt out at the end of Spring Training if the Padres don’t add him to the roster. Buehler has made two starts this spring. He has allowed four runs in 6 2/3 innings with a solid 6:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Márquez has recorded five punchouts without a walk while allowing three runs across five frames. Marco Gonzales, in camp on a minor league deal, has given up five runs despite recording eight strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings. JP Sears is on the 40-man roster but has had a rough spring and has a minor league option remaining, so he’s probably ticketed for Triple-A El Paso regardless of Musgrove’s status.
Mets Notes: Tong, Lindor
The Mets optioned right-hander Jonah Tong to Triple-A Syracuse this afternoon. The touted prospect was always a long shot to break camp, as he entered the spring no higher than seventh on the rotation depth chart.
Tong, one of the organization’s top pitching prospects, debuted last August. He got the call roughly two weeks after the Mets brought up Nolan McLean. While the latter dazzled over his first eight starts, Tong had a rockier debut showing. He surrendered 20 runs over his first 18 2/3 innings. Tong had two solid starts but was hit hard in his other three outings.
McLean slots behind Freddy Peralta as the highest-upside arms in Carlos Mendoza’s rotation. Kodai Senga and David Peterson are back despite coming up in some offseason trade speculation. Sean Manaea and Clay Holmes also have spots in what’ll probably be a six-man rotation.
Tong will continue to build up in Triple-A as injury insurance. He made one start in MLB camp, allowing three runs across 2 2/3 innings. Tong has only made two career starts at the Triple-A level. He dominated Double-A opposition to a 1.59 ERA with a 41% strikeout percentage over 20 starts earlier in the season.
In another bit of Mets news, Francisco Lindor played four innings during a minor league Spring Training game on Tuesday. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com relayed the news, noting that the minor league camp allowed Lindor to work solely as a defensive player without needing to bat. Lindor, who is exactly one month removed from sustaining a hamate fracture in his left wrist, has been hitting in the batting cage but isn’t ready to bat in games. He has maintained optimism he’ll be available for Opening Day, which is a little over two weeks away.
Cardinals Notes: Nootbaar, Baez, Catcher
Lars Nootbaar still hasn’t played this spring as he works back from heel surgeries. Jeff Jones of The Belleville News-Democrat noted yesterday that the left fielder is trending towards beginning the season on the injured list. There’s no clear timetable for his season debut.
An injured list stint has been a possibility since the Cardinals announced that Nootbaar had surgery to address Haglund’s deformities on both heels in early October. The health uncertainty seemingly took the outfielder off the trade block over the winter. Nootbaar was loosely tied to the Rangers, Mets and Pirates at points throughout the offseason. There was too much uncertainty in his health outlook for the Cardinals to net a strong enough return to move him.
The Cardinals have two years of arbitration control over Nootbaar. The lefty hitter posted above-average offensive numbers over his first three and a half MLB seasons. He had a career-worst .234/.325/.361 showing across 583 plate appearances last year. Nootbaar is making $5.35MM this season and seems likely to be available at the deadline as long as he’s healthy.
Nootbaar’s injury leaves the Opening Day left field job available. The Cardinals were in the market for a right-handed hitting outfielder late in the offseason but didn’t come away with any MLB additions. They signed Nelson Velázquez to a minor league deal. He’s mashing at a .333/.440/.524 clip with four walks and two strikeouts in 25 plate appearances this spring. They’re also getting utility infielders Thomas Saggese and José Fermín outfield work in camp. One of those players could split time with lefty-hitting Nathan Church as a stopgap left field platoon.
One idea not under consideration: carrying highly-regarded outfield prospect Joshua Báez on the Opening Day roster. The Cardinals optioned the 22-year-old to Triple-A Memphis yesterday. Báez had an excellent camp, slugging three homers while going 7-21 in 10 games. Báez has no Triple-A experience, though, so it’s hardly a surprise that he’ll begin the season in the minors.
A former second-round pick, Báez floundered early in his minor league career. He firmly put himself back on the prospect radar last season. Báez combined for a .287/.384/.500 slash with 20 homers between High-A and Double-A. Even more impressively, he cut his strikeout rate to a league average 21.4% clip after fanning in more than 34% of his plate appearances in his first three professional seasons. He’ll look to follow up his impressive Spring Training by maintaining that improved contact rate in his first look at Triple-A pitching.
St. Louis also optioned catching prospects Jimmy Crooks and Leonardo Bernal over the weekend. That leaves Ivan Herrera, Pedro Pages and Yohel Pozo as the three catchers on the 40-man roster who remain in camp. Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that the team intends to carry all three on the Opening Day roster. Pages will be the primary option behind the dish, while Pozo will work in a traditional backup role. Herrera will continue seeing more time as a designated hitter than at catcher, though the Cardinals aren’t moving him off the position entirely.
Julio Teherán Announces Retirement
Veteran righty Julio Teherán announced this afternoon that he’s officially retiring from baseball (Spanish-language video provided by Francys Romero). The 35-year-old was on the roster for his native Colombia during this year’s World Baseball Classic. Unfortunately, he had to be scratched from his scheduled start against Canada on Saturday after experiencing shoulder discomfort during warm-ups.
Although Teherán hasn’t been a factor at the MLB level in recent seasons, he had a strong career. A two-time All-Star, he pitched parts of 13 years in the big leagues. Teherán spent the bulk of his career with the Braves, who signed him for $850K as an amateur in 2008. He moved quickly through the minors and was one of the sport’s top pitching prospects within a couple years.
Atlanta called Teherán up for his first major league start in May 2011, less than four months after his 20th birthday. He made a handful of appearances over that season and the following year. By 2013, the Braves felt he was ready for a full-time rotation opportunity.
Teherán made 30 starts and turned in a 3.20 earned run average across 185 2/3 innings. He finished fifth in NL Rookie of the Year balloting on a 96-win team that won the NL East. Teherán was hit hard in his one appearance during the Division Series, but he signed a six-year extension that winter and entered the following season as Atlanta’s staff ace.
He’d hold that title for the next few seasons. Teherán made his first of six straight Opening Day starts for the Braves in 2014. Although the mid-2010s were a rough stretch for the team, that wasn’t any fault of Teherán’s. He established himself as a durable and reliable mid-rotation caliber starter.
Teherán topped 200 innings in consecutive seasons between 2014-15. He tossed a personal-high 221 frames of 2.89 ERA ball during his second full MLB campaign, earning an All-Star selection in the process. Teherán was selected back to the Midsummer Classic two years later. He turned in 188 innings of 3.21 ERA ball that year.
The 6’2″ righty only had two minimal injured list stints during his run in Atlanta. He made at least 30 starts every year from 2013-19. He got to 175 innings in all but the last of those seasons (in which he came just one out away from that mark). Teherán posted a combined 3.64 ERA with nearly 1200 strikeouts while ranking ninth in MLB in innings over those seven seasons. The Braves would return to the postseason during his final two years with the club, though he’d pitch out of the bullpen in October.
Atlanta declined a club option after the 2019 season, sending Teherán to free agency for the first time. He landed a $9MM contract from the Angels but was knocked around for 35 runs across 31 1/3 innings during the shortened schedule.
That pushed him into journeyman territory, as he bounced around via minor league deals and spent time in independent ball and the Mexican League. Teherán made brief appearances with the Tigers, Brewers and Mets between 2021-24. His final major league outing came as a member of the Mets against his old club at Truist Park in April 2024. He spent last season in Mexico.
Teherán wasn’t able to pitch in this year’s WBC, but he did earn a win for his home country in the 2017 tournament. He pitched professionally for almost two decades and retires with a sub-4.00 ERA in the big leagues despite his rocky results after leaving Atlanta.
He steps away with a 3.85 mark in nearly 1500 innings. Teherán recorded 1260 strikeouts and posted a near-.500 record (81-82). Baseball Reference credited him with roughly 20 wins above replacement, including 4-5 WAR showings during both of his All-Star seasons. He made north of $45MM in career earnings. Congratulations to Teherán on an excellent run and all the best in retirement.
Image courtesy of Jake Roth, USA Today Sports.
Padres Outright Daison Acosta
The Padres announced they’ve outrighted pitcher Daison Acosta. The team hadn’t previously designated the right-hander for assignment. That opens a spot on their 40-man roster, which is now at 39. San Diego also reassigned catching prospect Ethan Salas to minor league camp.
Acosta, 27, has never pitched in the big leagues. He divided most of last season between the top two minor league levels in the Washington system. Acosta qualified for minor league free agency at year’s end. He impressed the Padres enough to command a big league contract and a 40-man spot throughout the offseason.
The Dominican-born reliever has not appeared in any Spring Training games. The Padres evidently placed him on waivers over the weekend. He went unclaimed and will remain in the organization. Acosta should begin the season with Triple-A El Paso. He struggled at that level last year, posting a 4.71 ERA while walking 15% of opponents. He had dominated Double-A opposition, firing 30 innings of 0.90 ERA ball with a strikeout rate above 40%.
It’s not clear if San Diego plans to replace Acosta on the 40-man roster in the coming days. They may simply have been confident that he’d clear waivers. The Padres already had essentially one free spot on the 40-man roster, as they can transfer Yu Darvish to the 60-day injured list as a corresponding move. They have a number of non-roster invitees battling for jobs, with righty Logan Gillaspie among those impressing the club in camp.
Salas received his first invitation to MLB camp this year. The 19-year-old obviously wasn’t under consideration for the Opening Day roster after spending most of last year in High-A. He went 2-9 with a trio of walks. He’ll likely begin the season at Double-A San Antonio.
Reds Option Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Chase Petty
The Reds optioned first baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand and starter Chase Petty this morning. Both players entered camp as long shots to make the Opening Day roster after struggling in limited looks in 2025.
Encarnacion-Strand was Cincinnati’s season-opening first baseman in each of the last two years. He had impressed with a .270/.328/.477 line over 63 games as a rookie in 2023. He hasn’t built off that production. The righty hitter limped to a .199/.227/.337 showing while striking out more than a quarter of the time in 65 games between 2024-25. Encarnacion-Strand’s ’24 campaign was cut short by a wrist fracture that required surgery. He missed time last season with a back injury and spent the second half in Triple-A.
The 26-year-old had a solid but unexceptional minor league campaign. He hit .246/.309/.492 with 11 longballs and a 25.1% strikeout rate in 64 games. He’d gotten into six games this spring, going 5-15 with a pair of doubles.
The Reds are expected to give rookie Sal Stewart the starting job at first base, where Eugenio Suárez should get some work along with his primary DH job. Nathaniel Lowe and Michael Toglia are both in camp on minor league deals.
There’s probably one bench bat role available between the non-roster invites and outfielder Will Benson, who is on the 40-man roster. Benson has popped three homers with four walks and strikeouts apiece through his first 24 spring plate appearances. Lowe has a couple longballs but is batting .200 in 22 trips to the plate. Toglia entered camp as the longest shot of the group and has fanned in four of his 11 plate appearances.
Petty is a former first-round pick who made his first three major league outings last year. He was blitzed for 14 runs in six innings. Petty tossed four scoreless innings this spring, striking out and walking two batters. He’ll head back to Triple-A Louisville, where he gave up a 6.39 ERA across 112 2/3 innings.
Hunter Greene looks likely to open the season on the injured list after feeling elbow stiffness last week. Manager Terry Francona announced yesterday that Andrew Abbott will step in for his first career Opening Day start in Greene’s place. Brady Singer and Nick Lodolo slot into the middle of the staff.
Chase Burns and Rhett Lowder seem the frontrunners for the final two spots, with lefty Brandon Williamson representing the top alternative. Williamson and Lowder both missed all of last season. Lowder has punched out seven over five innings of one-run ball in camp. Williamson has six strikeouts in four frames, allowing two runs on three hits.
Blue Jays Re-Sign Max Scherzer
TODAY: Scherzer’s contract also contains full no-trade protection, Jon Heyman reports.
MARCH 2: The Blue Jays officially announced they’ve re-signed Max Scherzer to a one-year contract. The Boras Corporation client is reportedly guaranteed $3MM and can earn up to $10MM in incentives. He’d earn his first $1MM bonus at 65 innings and reach another $1MM bonus for every tenth inning, up through 155 frames overall. Toronto cleared a 40-man roster spot over the weekend by waiving infielder Ben Cowles, who was claimed by the Cubs.
It’s the future Hall of Famer’s second season in Toronto. The three-time Cy Young winner signed a $15.5MM deal with the Jays during the 2024-25 offseason. He was coming off an abbreviated season in which he’d been limited to nine starts for the Rangers. Scherzer had undergone back surgery the previous offseason, and a nerve issue in his throwing arm limited him once he recovered from the back procedure.
The arm remained problematic last season. Scherzer left his team debut after three innings because of thumb soreness. That had been traced to the nerve issue and ultimately led the Jays to shut Scherzer down for a couple months. He didn’t return to an MLB mound until late June.
Scherzer was able to avoid the injured list after that point but didn’t perform to his usual level. He allowed more than five earned runs per nine innings for the first time in his career. He closed the season with a 5.19 mark over 85 innings. Scherzer only once allowed more than four runs in a start, but he only went beyond five innings on seven occasions. He had six quality starts in 17 appearances.
The 17-year veteran is still capable of missing bats at a league average level. He struck out a slightly above-average 23% of batters faced against a tidy 6.4% walk rate. The issue is the damage hitters have done when they make contact. Scherzer allowed more than two home runs per nine innings for the first time in his career. It was the fourth-highest homer rate in MLB among pitchers who threw 70+ innings.
Scherzer’s fastball averaged 93.6 mph last season. That’s a tick higher than his 2024 mark, reversing a slight downward trend in his velocity during his late 30s. He nevertheless had a tough time getting hitters to chase his breaking pitches outside the strike zone. Scherzer obviously doesn’t have the same caliber of stuff he did at his peak, which makes him more hittable when he’s forced to challenge hitters. He has allowed a higher than average home run rate in three straight seasons.
At age 41, Scherzer profiles as a back-end starter on paper. Yet he has a wealth of big game experience and showed he’s still capable of getting outs on the biggest stage. The Jays left Scherzer off the roster for their Division Series matchup with the Yankees. They brought him back for the AL Championship Series against Seattle and the World Series showdown with the Dodgers.
Scherzer tossed 5 2/3 frames of two-run ball to get the win in ALCS Game 4. He struggled a bit in Game 3 of the World Series before coming back with one run allowed in 4 1/3 innings in Game 7. Scherzer left the mound with a 3-1 lead in a performance that would have been etched into Toronto sports history if the bullpen had held the lead.
They’ll aim to get over the hump in 2026. Assuming Scherzer builds up in time for Opening Day, he’ll probably slot into a six-man rotation to begin the season. Shane Bieber will begin the year on the injured list after experiencing forearm fatigue during the playoff run. Toronto had been slated to open the season with a starting five of Dylan Cease, Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage, José Berríos and Cody Ponce.
Yesavage is entering his first full MLB season. Ponce is a bit of a wild card in his return from Korea. Scherzer presumably isn’t going to log 150+ innings at this stage of his career. Opening with a six-man rotation would allow the Jays to take some of the burden off a rotation that shouldered as heavy a load as possible into October.
That comes with a trickle-down impact on the bullpen, however. The 13-pitcher limit means the Jays would be down to a seven-man bullpen if they go this route. That increases the importance of having a quality long reliever like Eric Lauer to handle multiple innings.
At the same time, this makes it less likely that Lauer will have a chance to win a rotation spot. The left-hander is an impending free agent and said he’d prefer a starting opportunity. There hasn’t been any indication that Lauer would seek a trade if the Jays keep him in a relief role, though the southpaw told Mitch Bannon of The Athletic he believes that pitching out of the bullpen last season cost him money in arbitration. Lauer lost his hearing, meaning he’ll make the team’s desired $4.4MM salary rather than his camp’s $5.75MM filing figure.
That could be a situation worth monitoring if everyone remains healthy closer to Opening Day. For now, this looks like the ideal outcome for the Jays and Scherzer alike. The $3MM base salary will push their franchise-record luxury tax payroll to approximately $319MM, according to RosterResource. The Jays are taxed at a 90% rate on spending above $304MM. This signing comes with a $2.7MM base tax. Earned performance bonuses are part of a team’s CBT calculation, so the Jays would also pay that 90% fee on any dollars that Scherzer unlocks by hitting innings milestones throughout the year.
Jon Heyman of The New York Post first reported the agreement. Shi Davidi of Sportsnet had the $3MM base and $10MM in incentives. Heyman reported the incentive structure. Image courtesy of Jay Biggerstaff, Imagn Images.
Padres Notes: Pivetta, Song, Cronenworth
The Padres are pushing Nick Pivetta’s scheduled start on Sunday back due to arm fatigue, reports Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune. San Diego’s staff ace had been scheduled to throw a standard bullpen session this afternoon. That was also delayed, though Acee writes that Pivetta should throw a bullpen within a few days and could be back in game action next week.
There doesn’t seem to be any real concern. Pitchers are still building up arm strength at this stage of Spring Training. Pivetta also has one of the stronger durability track records of any pitcher in the league. Aside from illness, he has only gone on the injured list once in his MLB career — a month-long absence early in 2024 due to a flexor strain. He returned without issue and had the best season of his career for San Diego last year.
If the pause lasts more than a few days, it’s possible it’ll lead the Padres to reconsider the way they order their season-opening rotation. San Diego hasn’t announced who’ll take the ball against Tarik Skubal and the Tigers on March 26. Pivetta would be the obvious choice on the heels of a sixth-place Cy Young finish. He has made two starts this spring, building to 43 pitches on Tuesday. Michael King, Joe Musgrove and Randy Vásquez are expected to follow him in the rotation. There’s an open competition for the fifth starter role.
A more notable camp storyline is the health of utility player Sung-mun Song. The former KBO star tweaked his right oblique during offseason training. Song was cleared early in camp and has appeared in seven Spring Training games, batting .250 with one home run across 19 plate appearances. He felt renewed tightness in the oblique during Thursday’s game and was lifted after two at-bats.
Song didn’t play on Friday and is listed as day to day. Manager Craig Stammen told Acee the team will approach the situation with increased caution now that the oblique has flared up twice. He noted that it’s more general soreness than something that can be traced to one swing, which likely would have signified a more acute strain. Song’s status for Opening Day is nevertheless back in question. If he’s not available, Mason McCoy or Will Wagner could win a utility role.
A second/third baseman in Korea, Song was making his first professional start at shortstop in yesterday’s game. The Padres have also had him take outfield drills to build more defensive versatility. They’ll have Jake Cronenworth and Manny Machado in the lineup most days at Song’s respective primary positions.
Cronenworth is out to a strong start in camp, batting .353 through his first 18 plate appearances. He connected on his first home run of exhibition play in Thursday’s 27-6 rout of the Mariners. AJ Cassavell of MLB.com notes that the longball came to left-center field. That’s not ordinarily noteworthy, but the lefty-hitting Cronenworth has never hit a regular season home run to the opposite field. He has 80 career longballs over six seasons, all of which have gone to the pull side.
One exhibition homer isn’t going to suddenly make Cronenworth an all-fields power threat. It came off a Double-A pitcher in a game where the wind was blowing out; the teams combined for 12 homers altogether. Still, it’s a positive indicator that aligns with some tweaks which Cronenworth made over the winter to his weight transfer and bat path. Cassavell chats with the veteran infielder and first-year hitting coach Steven Souza Jr. about the adjustments for a piece that Padres fans will want to give a full read.
Peralta Seeking “Seven Or Eight” Years In Extension Talks
The Mets paid a fairly significant prospect price to acquire ace Freddy Peralta from Milwaukee in January. A bargain $8MM salary was a big part of his trade value. The Mets surely have some interest in keeping the impending free agent in Queens at what would be significantly higher prices beyond this year.
Although Peralta has expressed openness to extension talks, he’s targeting the kind of contract which the Mets have mostly avoided under president of baseball operations David Stearns. Peralta told Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic earlier this week that he was looking for a long-term deal. He was more specific on Friday, telling Jon Heyman of The New York Post he’s seeking “seven or eight years.”
It’d be surprising if the Mets go to that length, at least before Peralta hits the open market. As shown on MLBTR’s Contract Tracker (available to Front Office subscribers), the Mets haven’t signed a pitcher for more than three years since Stearns was hired in 2023.
Last winter’s three-year, $75MM deal with Sean Manaea is their only pitching contract beyond two seasons. They reportedly made a 12-year offer to Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but he was an ace coming over from Japan at age 25. It has been a similar setup on the position player side. They were willing to do essentially whatever it took to sign Juan Soto, but they’ve otherwise pursued short-term deals at huge annual rates with their free agent targets.
Stearns has traded for Peralta twice and signed him to a bargain early-career extension when he was running baseball operations in Milwaukee. He understandably loves the player and clearly appreciates what he brings to the clubhouse.
That said, Peralta would be a more typical high-end free agent than a nearly unique case like Soto or Yamamoto. He turns 30 in June, so the first year of an extension or free agent deal would be his age-31 season. He’s an excellent pitcher but is a clear notch below the likes of Tarik Skubal and Paul Skenes as the best arms in MLB.
Last season’s fifth-place Cy Young finish was the first time in Peralta’s career that he appeared on ballots. He’s coming off a career-low 2.70 earned run average through 176 2/3 innings. He ranked 11th among starters (minimum 120 innings) with a 28.2% strikeout rate. Peralta hasn’t missed a start in three seasons and ranks 15th in innings pitched during that time.
There’s some recent precedent for a seven-plus year deal with that profile. Aaron Nola commanded seven years and $175MM from the Phillies at the same age in 2023. Nola was extremely durable but didn’t throw as hard as Peralta does and had started to struggle with the home run ball.
Dylan Cease pulled seven years and $210MM (albeit with deferrals dropping the actual value closer to $185MM) from the Blue Jays last offseason. Cease throws a little harder and misses a few more bats than Peralta does, but his start to start efficiency was lacking. Max Fried is the only pitcher in his 30s to sign for eight years within the past decade. He got to $218MM from the Yankees as a lefty with plus stuff who hadn’t allowed an ERA higher than 3.25 in any of the five seasons preceding free agency.
Peralta fits in that group on talent. The difference between his current situation and the aforementioned trio is that he’s still a year away from the open market. Walk year extensions for Luis Castillo and José Berríos landed south of $150MM. Peralta presumably isn’t looking for an annual value in the low $20MM range simply to stretch the length of the contract.
Rosenthal reported on Monday that the sides had yet to seriously broach an extension. They’ll likely have those conversations within the three weeks leading up to the start of the regular season. Whether there’s a long-term deal in place or not, Peralta will make his team debut on Opening Day. Skipper Carlos Mendoza made that unsurprising announcement last week. They’ll host the Pirates (who’ll surely turn the ball to Skenes) in a marquee pitching matchup.
Chad Patrick To Open Season In Brewers’ Rotation
Jacob Misiorowski and Chad Patrick will open the season in the Brewers’ rotation, manager Pat Murphy tells Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. The rest of the starting five is still up in the air depending on injuries and camp performance.
Brandon Woodruff and Quinn Priester are locks for rotation roles when healthy. Woodruff is the likelier of the two to be available by Opening Day. The Brewers are exercising caution in building him back from last year’s season-ending lat injury. He’ll make his Cactus League debut tomorrow against the Angels.
Priester is behind due to what appears to be minor wrist discomfort. The righty threw batting practice early in Spring Training but hasn’t faced hitters since then. Priester told reporters yesterday that he’s still playing catch but occasionally feels the nagging soreness (video via Curt Hogg of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). Testing hasn’t revealed anything off structurally, but he’s unlikely to be ready for the start of the season in less than three weeks.
Misiorowski was a lock to make the season-opening rotation regardless of Woodruff’s and Priester’s statuses. Patrick entered camp as the favorite for the fourth starter role but seemed less assured of a job. That’s less a reflection of his own performance than the fact that Milwaukee’s depth pushed him out of the starting five in the second half of last season.
Patrick turned in a 3.52 earned run average over his first 19 career appearances. Milwaukee nevertheless optioned him to Triple-A on July 6 once Woodruff returned from shoulder surgery. Patrick spent six weeks in the minors. The Brewers used him in a swing role when they recalled him in mid-August. He pitched out of the bullpen in the playoffs, tossing nine innings of two-run ball with 11 punchouts across six appearances.
The 27-year-old Patrick never garnered much fanfare as a prospect. He’s a former fourth-round pick who was traded for Jace Peterson and Abraham Toro, respectively, before making his MLB debut. It’d be easy to lose him in the shuffle of Milwaukee’s more well-known controllable arms. Patrick nevertheless earned a roster spot by striking out more than a quarter of opponents with a 3.53 ERA across 119 2/3 innings as a rookie. He built up to three innings and 52 pitches this afternoon in his second Spring Training start.
If Woodruff avoids the injured list, the Brewers would have three-fifths of their opening rotation in place. Trade pickups Brandon Sproat and Kyle Harrison join Logan Henderson and Robert Gasser in the battle for the final two spots.
Murphy noted today that left-handers Aaron Ashby and DL Hall are being considered as potential starters as well. Both southpaws worked out of the bullpen or as openers last year. That’s likely where they’ll be used most frequently, though they can work as tandem starters or multi-inning relievers if they don’t win a traditional rotation role.