Padres News: Joe Musgrove’s promising return update, Fernando Tatis Jr. rests, Robbie Ray’s playoff-style hook

The San Diego Padres have reached the point of the season where every decision comes with the postseason attached to it. The latest updates on Joe Musgrove, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Robbie Ray are all connected to the same goal. 

The Padres gave us plenty to unpack on Wednesday, and not all of it was easy to pull out of the package. There was progress worth celebrating, a lineup card worth questioning and a managerial decision that made it clear August baseball has acquired a playoff feel. Let’s dive in.

Joe Musgrove is closing in on his long-awaited Padres comeback

The Padres aren’t ready to activate Musgrove, but they are beginning to see the finish line. Musgrove completed a bullpen session and is expected to make his next rehab start Friday for Triple-A El Paso. The plan is for him to make at least one more rehab appearance before rejoining the Padres.

So the idea of seeing Michael King, Casey Mize, Robbie Ray, and Joe Musgrove in the same rotation has become very real.  Friday’s stat line isn’t exactly what we should keep our eye on. It’s more about how his pitches hold as his workload increases.  

There’s still no reason to rush him now that the process has reached its final stage. Still, “at least one more rehab start” sounds much better than another vague update about future checkpoints.

Fernando Tatis Jr.’s poorly timed rest day raises questions

Here’s where we stop nodding along with the Padres’ plan and give them some side-eye. Tatis entered Wednesday with four home runs over his previous seven games. The Padres had a chance to sweep Milwaukee and were fighting through a three-team tie for the final NL wild-card spot.

So of course they benched their hottest hitter. It was an odd choice to make on a getaway day before the team has a scheduled off-day. Tatis had also been removed in the sixth inning of Tuesday’s game. That’s a lot of rest packed together for a player who has started punishing baseballs again.

Unless more comes out, this just wreaks of overmanagement. Some Padres fans quickly were quick to point it out that November offers plenty of time to rest.

If Stammen wanted to protect Tatis’ legs, the better move was simple: start him, try to build a lead and remove him later. The Padres had already done exactly that the previous night.

Giving Tatis consecutive breathers while he’s on a power surge wasn’t clever workload management. It was getting too cute at a bad time.

Craig Stammen’s early Robbie Ray hook was pure playoff managing

Stammen deserves credit for what he did with Ray. The veteran left-hander allowed two runs over four innings, but he needed 84 pitches to get there. His outing wasn’t a disaster but the Stammen pulled the plug before it got out of hand. He handed a one-run game to Bradgley Rodríguez in the fifth inning instead of allowing Ray’s reputation or win total to dictate the decision.

MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell noted during the game, it was an aggressive move, and we should expect more of them down the stretch.

That’s great. Stammen managed the game in front of him instead of protecting a pitcher’s line. That’s exactly the mentality San Diego needs down the stretch. At the same time, it also makes the Tatis decision even more bizarre.

If every inning matters enough to pull Ray early, every plate appearance should matter enough to start the hottest hitter on the roster. The Padres can’t operate with postseason urgency on the mound and spring-training patience on the lineup card.

The Padres have entered the season’s fourth quarter. It’s time to manage every part of the roster like it.

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