Padres Appear to Have Made Decision on Starting Rotation for Opening Day

The San Diego Padres appear to have made at least one decision regarding their starting rotation come Opening Day.

Pitching coach Ruben Niebla was asked this weekend about the team deploying a five- or six-man rotation. His response was very telling in which way the team was leaning.

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"I think the five- or six-[man rotation] is something that has been talked about a little bit more outside our room because right now we're just trying to get these guys work," Niebla said, hinting at the fact that the team isn't really considering a six-man rotation. "They are all on a five-day routine and [we'll] let the competition kind of play itself out and then we'll make decisions off that."

The idea of a six-man rotation versus a five-man rotation would allow the Padres extra rest for their starters with both Michael King and Joe Musgrove coming off injury. However, Niebla didn't make it sound like the team was worrying about that right now.

He also mentioned a major downside in going to a six-man rotation.

“You’d take one bullpen arm less,” Niebla said. “And we have a pretty good bullpen. Good competition there as well.”

The Padres have arguably the best bullpen in MLB, so taking seven relievers instead of eight would leave a strong arm off the team to open the season. Moreover, the Padres have major question marks in the starting rotation — especially the back-end.

What does the Padres starting rotation look like right now?

The Padres have three clear guys at the top of their rotation in King, Musgrove and Nick Pivetta. Then, Randy Vásquez is likely in position to secure the No. 4 spot, leaving a competition for the fifth spot. At this point, there's no clear frontrunner.

After Matt Waldron's hemorrhoid surgery likely cost him a chance at making the Opening Day roster, the Padres have a handful of veterns competing for the final spot in JP Sears, Germán Márquez, Walker Buehler, Triston McKenzie and Marco Gonzales. The Padres haven't seen enough from any one of them yet, let alone two of them, to feel confident.

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Thus, the Padres will likely utilize a five-man rotation to open the season, and then have plenty of depth in the minor leagues to deal with potentially needing extra rest for their pitchers.

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