Padres’ bullpen provides reinforcements for unreliable back-end of starting rotation

When A.J. Preller went all out at the trade deadline, he quite literally addressed every need possible. He acquired a pair of impact bats, upgrading at the catcher position, and brought in one of the most electric relief pitchers in the game right now. Preller did all of this at the expense of the farm system, as 13 prospects were traded away in the final 48 hours leading up to the deadline.

Despite filling every hole, a new weakness on the roster doesn't get nearly as much attention: the back end of the rotation. Behind Nick Pivetta, Michael King, and maybe Dylan Cease, the fourth and fifth starters in the rotation have provided little to no value. Yu Darvish has manned the fourth spot, he is no longer able to give you lengthy outings.

The fifth spot has been held down by a tandem of southpaws, JP Sears and Nestor Cortes; the two lefties have made 11 total starts with the Padres, posting a combined ERA of 5.82 in that span. This alone should be enough to make fans nervous come playoff time, as the rotation depth looks horrible.

However, the one element on this roster that could make up for the weak rotation depth is the strong bullpen. This was on full display in Saturday’s game against the Chicago White Sox.

Yu Darvish started the game for San Diego, but the 39-year-old was only able to make it through 4.2 innings, allowing two runs on six hits, before turning it over to the bullpen while down 2–1.

The combination of Adrian Morejon, Jeremiah Estrada, Mason Miller, and Robert Suarez was able to hold it down the rest of the way, going 4.1 innings while allowing only a single run. This dominance allowed the offense to finally wake up, as they scored six runs over three innings.

While the back end of the rotation is indeed very weak, Mike Shildt only needs his starters to pitch four to five innings of solid baseball before turning it over to the bullpen. That's a tremendous luxury to have, especially in the postseason.