San Diego Padres Attempt To Piece Together a Rotation

The Padres head to Spring training knowing that the team is deep in a period of transition and one of the key areas of concern is the pitching staff. From the rotation to the bullpen, an aspect of the team that was a major strength merely eighteen months ago now looks like potentially the weakest part of the squad.

The key to the Padres not sliding even further away from a mediocre NL West pack, will be in the form of Jake Peavy and Chris Young. Peavy, when on song, is one of the finest pitchers in Baseball, having won the Triple Crown in 2007.

However, he will be representing team USA in The World Baseball Classic and manager Bud Black and GM Kevin Towers will be hoping that the extra workload will not affect him in the same way it did in '06, when his ERA spiked to 4.06.

Peavy, however, is extremely competitive and will surely be disappointed with both his performance and the performance of the team last season and will look to make amends this year.

Chris Young can at times be a dominant force but suffered a horrendous injury when struck in the face by an Albert Pujols line drive on May 21 of last year. Young was left dazed on the ground for several minutes but was able to leave the field under his own power as he only sustained a nasal fracture and a laceration on his nose which resulted in a shocking amount of blood loss.

He missed more than a month of the season with that injury before injuring his shoulder a mere three games into his return and missing another month. However, in September, against the Brewers, he showed just how dominant he could be, retiring the first 23 batters en route to a two-hit shutout in the first complete game of his career.

The Padres have already lost a combined 401 wins and 554 saves worth of experience in the form of Greg Maddux (now retired) and Trevor Hoffman (now of the Brewers) since the trading deadline of last season and will require a dominant Peavy and Young to give the team a good shot in their 40 percent of the games—providing they stay healthy, which was not the case in 2008.

After Jake Peavy (permitting a trade to the Cubs isn't revisited by opening day) and Chris Young, there are questions everywhere, although Cha Seung Baek has the No. 3 spot going into spring having looked semi-competent in posting a 4.62 ERA in 20 starts following his arrival from Seattle last season.

Bud Black hopes Mark Prior can reward the faith placed in him by the team and come back from a second round of shoulder surgery in as many years. Despite not having pitched in the Majors since leaving his last start (Aug. 10, 2006 at Milwaukee) having struggled with his control and feeling shoulder discomfort.

General Manager Kevin Towers claims that should Prior find a way to stay healthy, just like his former Cubs teammate Kerry Wood did last year, "he’s my ace in the hole".

IF Prior can stay healthy, and it is a massive "if", the Padres should have a solid rotation. There are eight candidates for the final spot (or final two if Prior goes according to form) and Towers is hopeful that RHPs Josh Greer and Chad Reinke can build on the potential they showed in flashes both in the Minors and with the Padres last season.

The experienced Maddux is no longer around to mentor the younger members of the staff but Bud Black is hoping Peavy can assume that role this year.

If all the pieces can somehow come together, the Padres should have a pretty solid rotation, however this will require Peavy and Young to stay healthy, Baek to follow up on his performances of last year and Mark Prior to somehow find a way to stay healthy and return to Major League prominence.

Josh Greer is probably the favorite for the final spot and he showed glimpses of his talent last season and the team has high hopes that he can have a breakout year and give the team the hope for the future it so desperately needs.