Padres already have the ideal contingency plan after Casey Mize’s injury

The Padres received encouraging news after Casey Mize’s strange ankle injury Saturday night. Now they must take advantage of an equally encouraging schedule. Mize’s night took a weird turn on Aug. 22, and it didn’t even happen on the mound. His cleat caught the rubber edge of the dugout steps between the second and third innings, causing him to roll his right ankle. He taped it up and tried to push through, but he clearly wasn’t himself. Craig Stammen pulled him in the third inning of San Diego’s 7-5 win over the Twins.

Imaging came back negative, leaving Mize day-to-day with some swelling and he hopes to make his next start. Great news. But the Padres should buy him some extra time anyway.

Padres can protect Casey Mize ahead of difficult Rays series

There’s no reason to test a tender ankle against one of the best teams in baseball when the schedule has already provided a clean alternative. The Friars are off Thursday, Aug. 27, one day before beginning a road series against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Walker Buehler is starting Sunday against Minnesota. If the Padres skip Mize’s turn, Buehler can take the ball Friday against Tampa Bay on normal rest and Robbie Ray and Michael King could follow without having their routines disrupted. The rotation keeps moving without a real hitch, the bullpen avoids another all-hands-on-deck assignment and Mize receives nearly another week to get healthy.

Tampa Bay entered Sunday with 76 wins. Sending Mize into that matchup while he’s still testing his ankle would be unnecessary. We already saw what happened when Mize tried to work through the injury Saturday. His final three fastballs were clocked at 91 mph.

Mize will probably want the baseball, and that’s exactly what the Padres should expect. But the club’s job is to make the smarter call.

They paid a significant deadline price to acquire Mize for the stretch run. Protecting that investment for an additional turn matters more than squeezing one potentially compromised August start out of him.

Maybe the swelling disappears quickly and Mize feels ready. The Padres still lose nothing by using the off day, moving Buehler up and giving Mize additional recovery time.

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