Padres Shuffle Rotation Hinting at Major Roster Move

The San Diego Padres are having right-handed pitcher Randy Vásquez pitch a bullpen session on Saturday, meaning he won't be making his scheduled start on Sunday in the series finale against the White Sox.

By pushing Vásquez back in the rotation, the Padres are essentially making room for Griffin Canning to come off the injured list and start Sunday's game.

Randy Vásquez readying to throw a bullpen session. The rotation schedule has been changed.
It appears Griffin Canning will make his Padres debut tomorrow, barring something unforeseen.
— Kevin Acee (@sdutKevinAcee) May 2, 2026

The Athletic's Dennis Lin reported Saturday morning that the Padres were considering making such a move. Now, it's all but confirmed with Vásquez's start being pushed back.

Canning joined the Padres this offseason on a one-year deal that guarantees $4.25 million. He had a career year with the New York Mets last season before rupturing his Achilles tendon in late June.

Canning made 16 starts, going 7-3 with a 3.77 ERA across 76.1 innings. In his career, he has a 4.65 ERA over 584.1 innings.

Canning opened the season on the injured list, but has been ramping up towards a return. He was scheduled to make another rehab start on Sunday, but instead, the Padres appear to have decided that start will come at the major league level.

Canning made five rehab starts — all at Triple-A El Paso — and cumulated a 3.60 ERA with 18 strikeouts to 12 walks. He pitched five innings in his most recent start, meaning he's built up to at least cover five innings on Sunday.

Who is Griffin Canning Replacing in Padres Rotation?

It will be interesting to see what the corresponding move for Canning ends up being.

The Padres could go to a six-man rotation for the time being, giving them a seven-man bullpen. Or, Canning could replace one of the three struggling starters in the rotation in Walker Buehler, Germán Márquez and Matt Waldron.

Buehler has a 5.40 ERA across 25 innings this season, and is on a $1.5 million deal after signing a minor league contract this offseason.

Márquez has a 5.76 ERA across 29.2 innings this season, and is on a $1.75 million major league deal he signed this offseason.

Waldron has a 9.88 ERA across 13.2 innings, and was a replacement for Nick Pivetta after he went on the injured list.

The Padres will also need a spot in the rotation in the next couple weeks when Lucas Giolito is ready to make his debut.

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