San Diego Padres: Cahill set to follow Margot, DL shrinking

There is good news for the San Diego Padres, as a key piece of their rotation is ready to come off of the disabled list, following Manuel Margot, who has excelled since returning.

Just what the doctor ordered for the San Diego Padres. Veteran right-handed starter Trevor Cahill is set to return from the disabled list and start the July 4th contest with the Cleveland Indians. This will undoubtedly help solidify a rotation which is going through a difficult stretch and struggling from fatigue.

Instead of bumping Dinelson Lamet from the rotation altogether, the club will allow Lamet, along with the rest of the rotation, an extra day off this time around. This day, coupled with the scheduled off day on Monday, will certainly help give the rotation some rest.

Besides this, Cahill’s return will bring a veteran presence back to the young pitching staff. With him and Jered Weaver gone, Lamet was forced to step in and Luis Perdomo was given a greater role. Though both of these starters handled the circumstances as well as the organization could have hoped for, getting their offseason acquisition back in action is a major plus regardless.

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In seven starts in 2017 with the Padres, Cahill has pitched 41 and 1/3 innings and has an ERA of 3.92. Although his statistics come from a small sample size, the 29-year-old impressed in the early stages of his return to being a starter, a role he didn’t normally play during his time with the Chicago Cubs.

Cahill has made two rehab starts while recovering from a right shoulder strain suffered in May. One of the starts was in Single-A and one in Triple-A. According to Cahill himself as well as manager Andy Green, he’s well prepared to get back to the majors.

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Cahill joins outfielder Manuel Margot in returning from long term absences due to injuries. Margot returned last week, and quickly found his home once again hitting second directly following Jose Pirela. The Padres can already tell the difference with the 22-year-old back in action, as he consistently finds ways to get on base and is quite aggressive on the base paths.

Margot’s defensive presence is also an asset San Diego missed during his time on the disabled list. With him back, it gives Andy Green more flexibility in the outfield, not needing to play Franchy Cordero every day.

Next: Catcher prospects

As good as the replacements for both Cahill and Margot were, the Padres are thrilled to have two of their key pieces back. The disabled list remains quite lengthy, with another starter in Weaver still on it as well as two possible starting outfielders, Travis Jankowski and Alex Dickerson. Still, the Padres are beginning to get healthy again, and have found the difference Margot makes when he is in the lineup. They’re also about to see how quickly Cahill can return to his old form on Tuesday when he starts in Cleveland.