San Diego Padres: Rotation Coming Together Better Than Anticipated

With the San Diego Padres bringing in two starting pitchers, their rotation all of a sudden doesn’t look all that bad for 2017.

There’s no reason to beat around the bush when it comes to the starting rotation of the San Diego Padres. Just a week ago, it looked bleak for this group, one which many thought would struggle greatly in 2017.

With the top starter on the roster at that point being Christian Friedrich, and their top three starters from 2016 all hitting free agency, fans were concerned, and had legitimate reason to be.

But now, just several days prior to Christmas, the pitching staff is in much better shape. Re-signing southpaw Clayton Richard served as a huge relief for fans, and the addition of an experienced starter in Jhoulys Chacin provides further security for a young group.

In addition to all of this excitement, recent rumors suggest that adding Jake Peavy is not out of the realm of possibility. If nothing else, even if this doesn’t work out, it at least sends a message to fans that general manager A.J. Preller and the Padres’ front office is not satisfied with the current makeup of their rotation, even after adding Richard and Chacin.

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If just one more starter is added, Friedrich and Luis Perdomo would serve as the fourth and fifth starters, instead of the first and second. With all due respect to these very capable pitchers, this is a season changing difference.

And since the Padres are actively shopping Peavy, another addition seems very likely. If it doesn’t end up being the 35-year-old, San Diego could once again focus their attention on bringing back Tyson Ross or Edwin Jackson.

Any of these options would help solidify the rotation, having an immediate impact on the 2017 club. But even with the current rotation, San Diego fans should be satisfied. All things considered, it wasn’t supposed to look this good at this point, and it does.

Next: A Jake Peavy Return?

The Padres are still in rebuilding mode, and fans clearly don’t have an elite pitching staff to look forward to seeing in 2017. However, how bad it looked just a week ago left many hopeless for a formidable rotation. Now, everything looks just a bit different.