After making the playoffs in three of the past four seasons—including a second straight year with at least 90 wins, a mark they hadn’t achieved since 2010—but still falling short of what would have been just the franchise’s third World Series appearance since joining the league as an expansion team in 1969, the San Diego Padres now find themselves at a pivotal moment.
They have already lost two pitchers from their starting rotation. Dylan Cease left to sign with the Toronto Blue Jays as a free agent, and an elbow injury for Yu Darvish will keep him out until 2027. San Diego needs pitching perhaps more than anything else, and that does not always mean acquiring front-line starters. Organizational depth can be just as important.
The Padres made just such a depth as they acquire a promising, 25-year-old starter. When he was drafted in the fifth round back in 2019 by the Miami Marlins, he was described by SB Nation Marlins correspondent Spencer Morris as “one of the more exciting names to follow” in that year’s draft class.
