Padres may have finally found the perfect role for JP Sears

The Padres may have spent too much time trying to turn JP Sears into a traditional starting pitcher. Their win on July 25 in Miami offered a much simpler solution. Maybe stop asking him to be one.

Sears followed Randy Vásquez and carved through the Marlins for 3 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out three. Vásquez handled the first 10 batters. Sears took the next 12. Matt Waldron finished the job.

That’s exactly how San Diego should use Sears moving forward. This was the Padres putting a pitcher in a position that suits him. All they need is for Sears to help them cover three or four quality innings without letting a game unravel. He has shown that he can do that.

JP Sears’ splits make the Padres’ decision easy

The numbers offer a clear explanation. Sears has dominated the first nine hitters he’s faced in his appearances this season, holding them to a .160 batting average with a 0.64 ERA. That average climbs when they see him again to .262 the second time through, while his ERA jumps to 4.41. Against the third group, opponents are hitting .357 and his ERA sits at 9.00. The progression is obvious.

The Padres saw his volatility against the Cubs, when he allowed seven runs and three home runs in 4 2/3 innings. Once things started moving against him, there was no stopping them. His pitch mix became easier to track, and Chicago punished nearly all of them.

Miami showed the other side. Sears entered after the lineup had already been disrupted by Vásquez, attacked a specific section of the order and left before familiarity became a problem. The Marlins never got the chance to settle in against him.

Some would say they're protecting Sears. So be it. It’s working. Plenty of pitchers become more valuable once teams stop forcing them to satisfy an outdated definition of a starter. If Sears can provide 9 to 12 outs, bridge the middle innings and keep Mason Miller and Adrian Morejon from being dragged into games too early, the Padres should gladly take it.

Five innings with a potential blowup attached aren’t automatically more valuable than three clean ones.

Craig Stammen’s rotation experiment gives Sears a real purpose

Craig Stammen has already made it clear that San Diego’s pitching roles will remain fluid. Sears is part of a six-man group with Vásquez, Germán Márquez, Griffin Canning, Waldron and Kyle Hart that can start, follow an opener or cover multiple innings from the bullpen.

Normally, that much uncertainty would feel like a pitching staff without a plan. With this Padres rotation, it’s their version of the Tigers’ “pitching chaos,” and it could keep the season alive.

Sears has already flashed enough to remain with the major league club. He threw five scoreless innings against the Dodgers on July 5 and held Atlanta to one earned run across five frames on July 20. His stuff works. His problem is maintaining that effectiveness as lineups gain more information.

The piggyback system removes that burden. The Friars have found something practical. Let him start when the matchup favors him. Let him enter behind Vásquez or another opener when it does not. Give him a defined section of the game and pull him before the opponent gets too comfortable.

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