The San Diego Padres swung a couple of trades at the trade deadline, adding multiple pitchers and hitters to bolster their rotation, bullpen, and lineup. While Mason Miller was the headliner, another pitcher was included in the deal with the Athletics.
That pitcher is JP Sears, and after making a start for the Padres, where he went five innings, allowed ten hits and five earned runs, the Padres optioned him to Triple-A. In a piece from Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Mike Shildt was asked about Sears’ return to the rotation, and his answer didn’t paint a positive picture.
“It’s on the table,” Shildt said, “But I’ve always been one to say that you have to give up something to get something. So everybody that wants to go to a six-man rotation and pounds that table may be a little naive to how bullpens really operate over a 13-game stretch. You don’t want to go down a bullpen arm over 13 games and then start to throw guys in areas that they don’t need to belong and then create even more conversation.”
Shildt didn’t completely shut down the idea of Sears returning to the rotation, but cautions the idea of moving to a six-man rotation. With a six-man rotation, the rest for starters becomes different, and could cause pitchers to fall off their rhythm.
With Michael King coming back, Nick Pivetta and Dylan Cease pitching well, and Yu Darvish and Nestor Cortes in the rotation, Sears doesn’t have a clear path to a spot with the starting pitchers.
MORE: Padres pull off blockbuster trade for Athletics’ Mason Miller
Instead, the Padres will likely keep him in Triple-A and could make a decision from there. If a starter gets hurt or is struggling too much, then Sears might get another shot in the Majors this season.
But he will also be competing with Randy Vasquez in Triple-A, and if the Padres need another starter, whoever is pitching better of the two might get the call-up to the big leagues.
The Padres’ current situation and problem a good ones to have. Starting pitching isn’t easy to come by, and the Padres have two solid starting pitcher options in Sears and Vasquez in the minor leagues.
The other half of the Padres’ blockbuster trade for Miller will likely stay in the minors this season. With Shildt’s caution over a six-man rotation, it would take an injury or some roster shuffling for Sears to make his return to the MLB roster.
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