Padres: Three starting pitchers to target before deadline

With Garrett Richards having pitched two or fewer innings in his last two outings, a starting pitcher just became an immediate need for the Padres.

Not long after the Padres stunned the Mariners in game one of the doubleheader, scoring seven runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, the mood suddenly went somber again. Garrett Richards last all of two outs, putting the Padres in an early 6-0 hole. For Richards, it marked the second consecutive start in which he failed to pitch beyond the second inning. Which is strange because the start before that, the soon-to-be free agent went 7.0 innings.

We recently discussed that the Friars might be able to avoid adding another starter at the trade deadline because of how the schedule was configured, but that also assumed their rotation was going to give them a chance. Chris Paddack had another rough outing on Tuesday night, but he’s not going anywhere.

Richards made his way back from Tommy John surgery. Is he experiencing fatigue just over halfway through a 60-game season? Who the hecks know, but it’s evident that the Padres need to jump on the horn and determine what teams want in return for starting pitchers on the market. Speaking of the market, it definitely favors sellers this year, as some teams could give up a haul with just 27 games left.

But the Padres are talented enough to make a deep postseason run, should they be so fortunate. A couple of spots on the roster need to be patched up, though, beginning with the bullpen, but that’s long been a foregone conclusion that general manager AJ Preller will address it.

As for the rotation, let’s look at three players the Padres might ask about.