Padres Opening Day Starter Tyson Ross is finally close to at least begin his road to the starting rotation, as he is expected to start throwing in the next week.
The Padres are hopeful that his right shoulder inflammation is better and that he can be back in the rotation by shortly after the All Star Break. Not exactly what Padres fan want to hear.
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What has been good for the Padres is that their minor league system has been able to provide stability, even with first choice backup Robbie Erlin being lost for the year just after being recalled to fill Ross’ original injury.
Christian Friedrich got his first win of the season Friday tossing 7 strong innings of shut out ball bringing his ERA down to 1.65 on the season in 3 starts. Cesar Vargas has yet to get his first win but in his 7 starts only allowed more than 2 runs once – against the Cubs.
The Padres need Ross back though despite the other successes in the rotation. Drew Pomeranz has been otherwordly but there are lingering questions about how long. He hasn’t made more than 10 starts in a season since 2012 and is already at 9 this season.
Manager Andy Green offered this about his progress: “We’re at the point where pretty much everything has been done, and he’ll eventually be throwing a baseball,”
Regarding a timeline, Green had this to say: “It’s going to be an extended rehab process, You take this much time with him getting him ready to throw, you’re not going to fly through the rehab. You’re going to make sure he’s stretched out properly, given proper rest and that he feels good before he goes on the mound.”
Once he starts throwing a baseball again he still has a lot of work, with no real assurance that his shoulder will be healed as nothing was found to be structurally wrong in the first place. The Padres are hopeful that no surgery will be needed.
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Not what Padres fans are looking for and certainly Ross must be frustrated as well. Ross was an All Star for the Padres in 2014 and while teammate Pomeranz might be awarded his own All Star Selection, Ross was selected over James Shields as the Opening Day Starter and it would’ve been great to have multiple representatives.
Now the Padres are nearly 10 games out of first place with an offense that is very inconsistent and just hoping to be relevant come the Mid-Summer Classic at Petco Park in July.