Casey Mize’s latest collapse should end Padres’ Wild Card roster debate

We’ve probably given him enough time to audition, but Casey Mize should not be on the Padres’ Wild Card Series roster. Friday night supplied the final piece of evidence. Mize’s first pitch became a Lars Nootbaar home run, and the Diamondbacks never stopped swinging. Four innings, seven earned runs, three homers, two walks and one lonely strikeout later, his night was finished. Arizona rolled to an 11-4 win, and San Diego squandered its first chance to clinch the No. 4 seed and bring the entire Wild Card Series to Petco Park.

This was the loudest version of what the Padres have watched for nearly two months. Mize has made 10 starts since arriving from Detroit. He owns a 7.46 ERA over 44 2/3 innings, with 13 home runs and 19 walks allowed against only 25 strikeouts. His respectable-looking 4.32 season ERA is carrying a lot of luggage from his excellent first half with the Tigers. The version wearing brown and gold has been one of baseball’s least effective starters.

A three-game playoff series offers no room to pretend otherwise.

Padres should leave Casey Mize off their Wild Card roster

The Padres sent then-No. 2 prospect Kash Mayfield and Jackson Wolf to Detroit for Mize and Gage Workman. That price will be discussed for years if Mayfield develops into a frontline starter. That doesn’t mean the Padres have to thrust Mize into a roster spot.

Those prospects are gone. Carrying Mize against the Cubs or Phillies will not bring them back. It would simply allow a trade deadline decision to become a postseason decision.

A.J. Preller traded for the pitcher who posted a 2.70 ERA across 16 starts with Detroit. The Padres have received a physically limited version who cannot command his pitches. The gap between those two pitchers is enormous, and postseason roster decisions must be based on the player available today.

Mize deserves credit for addressing the problem honestly after Friday’s loss. He acknowledged that the right ankle sprain he suffered in August is preventing him from using his lower half properly. He called his current performance “nowhere close to good enough.”

We should believe him. And if his limitations are a detriment to the roster, then they shouldn’t ignore it. That admission should end his case. Mize’s résumé may insist he’s better than this, and Craig Stammen understandably said as much afterward. His ankle is delivering the only answer that matters right now.

Leaving him off the roster wouldn’t be a punishment. It would be an honest assessment of what his body can provide. Asking him to discover his delivery during a best-of-three series would be an unnecessary gamble with San Diego’s season.

There is no useful Wild Card role hiding here, either. Michael King is lined up for Game 1, while Nick Pivetta and Walker Buehler have made stronger cases for the other starts. A move to the bullpen would require Mize to throw strikes and escape trouble. His current numbers show neither ability with enough consistency.  

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