Padres: Larry Rothschild says MacKenzie Gore is back on track

While the San Diego Padres currently enjoy an embarrassment of pitching depth, even without the injured Mike Clevinger, you can’t ever have too many arms.

Knowing as much – especially with the team preparing for an extra 100-plus games as opposed to what they had last time around, starting pitching will be integral if San Diego hopes to run down the Dodgers in the division hunt.

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We know the team is stretching out lefty Adrian Morejon, with hopes he can fit into a swingman role, earning spot starts as needed. We also know it’ll take more than Morejon to address the rotation depth question in 2021. Don’t be shocked if top prospect MacKenzie Gore winds up being part of that solution.

On Thursday, Padres pitching coach Larry Rothschild spoke to the media and addressed the mechanical issues that plagued Gore ahead of the 2020 campaign when working out with the team at Summer Camp saying they’ve “been worked out and plus.”

Padres will turn to Gore if needed

If Gore is pitching well in the minors and, at some point, the Padres have a clear need for pitching, make no mistake: he’ll be on a plane to San Diego in short order. This organization isn’t worried about service time – it’s worried about winning.

Gore, who turned 22 this week, is yet to taste big league action. Two years ago between High-A and Double-A, the southpaw dazzled, working to a 1.69 ERA across 101 innings of work. But he hasn’t pitched in live-game scenarios since then, with the 2020 MiLB campaign wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic.

We all know his name and we know the hype surrounding him. Let’s hope that he lives up to the billing when we finally get to see him take the mound at PETCO Park with a game on the line this season.