The Padres aren’t taking the ball out of MacKenzie Gore’s hand.
Not entirely anyway.
A year removed from an injury-marred 2018 campaign, the Padres are giving their top pitching prospect a break from competitive innings to manage his workload.
The 20-year-old Gore will continue to pitch on a semi-regular schedule on the side to remain active. The Padres have not entirely ruled out Gore returning to action during Double-A Amarillo’s playoff run.
“Right now, Mac is in a good spot,” player development director Ben Sestanovich said. “He’s obviously a very competitive kid. I think he understand where he’s at and where he’s going.