Gaslamp Ball · Apr 16, 2025
How the Padres rounded out their starting rotation
Prior to the start of spring training, the Padres had their top three starters—Michael King, Dylan Cease and Yu Darvish—with Randy Vasquez and Matt Waldron available for the back end. Depth was an issue with only Henry Baez, Ryan Bergert, Omar Cruz and Jhony Brito listed on the 40-man roster with starter backgrounds. All completely unproven with only Brito having any major league exposure.
Just before spring camp began, the Padres announced that they intended to stretch former Rule 5 pick and reliever Stephen Kolek out as a starter. Again, unproven at the major league level.