Padres Appear to Have Found Their Fifth Starter, Could Suddenly Have Dominant Rotation

The San Diego Padres had an active trade deadline, bringing in two key starting pitchers to the team.

Given all the questions and uncertainty within the starting rotation this season, the Padres' front office made it a point to be aggressive. But the back end of the rotation remained unknown, even with the recent additions.

However, after a strong start from Randy Vásquez against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday, the right-hander could be in line to take the fifth spot. Vásquez fired six shutout innings against Arizona, allowing just two hits and one walk.

With the Diamondbacks just ahead of the Padres in the standings, this was as big of a performance from any pitcher this season. Vasquez's outing earned more trust from the coaching staff, and with one rotation spot open, it could be his to lose.

“Yeah, I think so,” manager Craig Stammen said in regards to Vásquez potentially getting closer to earning a spot in the rotation. ” He wants to prove that he deserves to be in the rotation. I think Randy wants to start. … Randy has been very determined to put his best foot forward in this situation, and he has.”

Vásquez opened the year very strongly, being one of the more consistent starters for the Padres. But since May, he has struggled, and was ultimately moved to the bullpen amid the team's "pitching chaos" strategy.

The right-hander has also dealt with an injury, being hit by a comebacker on his ankle in early July. Vásquez was placed on the injured list, but he also fainted the same night in what was a scary situation for the Padres.

Luckily, the veteran was OK, saying that the fainting was due to anxiety from being injured during the game.

Now that he's back, the right-hander seems ready to help this team push hard down the stretch.

“Coming into the game, I think we kind of had a feeling Randy was feeling good about himself,” Manny Machado said. “He wanted to prove something.”

Overall, Vásquez owns a 4.19 ERA across 101 innings this season with 65 strikeouts to 31 walks. If he can keep up his solid performance, the rotation spot down the stretch should be his.

What Does the Padres Rotation Look Like?

After acquiring both Casey Mize and Robbie Ray, the Padres finally have some depth within the starting rotation. Here is how an updated rotation plan could look for San Diego moving forward:

RHP Michael King
RHP Casey Mize
LHP Robbie Ray
RHP Walker Buehler
RHP Randy Vásquez

The team could also be getting both Joe Musgrove and Nick Pivetta back from injury in the coming weeks. Both pitchers made rehab starts this week, with Musgrove's outing going very well.

Pivetta, however, abruptly left the mound, but seems to have dodged a serious issue.

Even without Pivetta, though, the Padres finally appear to have more than enough rotation depth for the rest of the season and into October.

Add us as a preferred source on Google