Padres' playoff roster projection oddly omits former All-Star pitcher from rotation

Padres fans will soon know what San Diego's postseason roster looks like. The Friar faithful are eagerly awaiting the conclusion of Monday's doubleheader between the Atlanta Braves and New York Yankees. The San Diego Padres won't know the identity of their wild-card opponent until after Game 2 comes to a close.

But it's a good bet that president of baseball operations A.J. Preller and manager Mike Shildt have already discussed, at length, what the Padres postseason is going to look like. With the NL Wild Card only set for three games at the most, expect to see 14 position players and 12 pitchers on the Padres playoff roster.

The Friars' starting lineup, sans Ha-Seong Kim, is all but set and so is San Diego's bench. The Padres' starting rotation, however, is another story entirely. San Diego essentially has four pitchers vying for three spots, and Dennis Lin of The Athletic (subscription required) made a rather odd omission from the Padres starting rotation.

Padres postseason roster projection oddly pushes Yu Darvish into San Diego's bullpen

Lin's Padres' rotation features Dylan Cease, Joe Musgrove, and Michael King. Wait, what? No Yu Darvish? Are you serious? Yep! Darvish's name appeared as a middle reliever in the bullpen despite the fact that the Padres' right-hander has never thrown a relief inning during his entire major league career. Lin cites Darvish's two innings of relief as a member of Team Japan in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and notes that the veteran would only be used if absolutely necessary.

Some of this comes with sound reasoning, as San Diego would love to have Darvish on the bump for Game 1 of a potential NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers. But given that King has plenty of experience coming out of the bullpen during his tenure with the New York Yankees, it would stand to reason that he'd be the better fit as a potential reliever in the upcoming series.

Nothing is guaranteed during the postseason, and putting Darvish into the bullpen seems rather nuts. Sure, King's 2024 numbers are great, but Darvish has been outstanding since returning from the restricted list. The veteran is 3-0 in September with a 3.55 ERA.

The Padres are unlikely to release their playoff roster until a few hours before game time on Tuesday, so the San Diego fanbase will have to wait until then to learn of Shildt's plan for his starting rotation and relief corps. The hope, of course, is that both Cease and Musgrove take care of business in Games 1 and 2, eliminating the need for the Friars to even rely on a third starter during the NL Wild Card Series. But the MLB Playoffs are nothing if not unpredictable.

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