Padres have four catchers in Chicago as they evaluate whether Elias Díaz can play after departing Saturday’s game with oblique tightness
The Padres held a workout at Wrigley Field on Monday in advance of their National League Wild Card Series against the Cubs. CHICAGO — Nick Pivetta arrived at Wrigley Field on Monday morning, climbed a set of stairs and walked along an aisle in the lower seating bowl.
When he reached a spot behind home plate, a dozen rows from the field, he lifted his phone and took a photo. “It was just taking in the moment,” Pivetta said later. “I enjoy this field. It’s a very beautiful day here in Chicago. The sun is nice. I haven’t had much time to be outside. So I just walked around the stadium, got a good photo. You just take in the moments and appreciate them and are very grateful for them. And excited, too. … I think every baseball player appreciates Wrigley Field for its history. It’s part of baseball history. It’s baseball in general. I have a great appreciation for the sport and every field and individual and person, but it’s just being cognizant, being present, it’s just very important.” Pivetta will start Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series for the Padres on Tuesday after a season in which he signed with the team in February and ended up being their ace. Dylan Cease will start Game 2. Yu Darvish will start Game 3 if it is necessary. Michael King will work out of the bullpen. That trio was expected by the Padres to be atop their rotation in 2025. Darvish missed the first half of the season with an elbow issue and has posted a 5.38 ERA in 15 starts since returning. King was sidelined more than half the season with a nerve impingement near his shoulder and knee inflammation, and he was mostly effective but inconsistent in four starts since returning. Cease struggled all year to find a rhythm and harness his pitches en route to posting a 4.55 ERA. Pivetta finished the regular season ranked fifth in the NL in ERA and second in WHIP , both career bests by a large margin. Among his 19 quality starts was an April 16 game against the Cubs at Petco Park in which he allowed a run on six hits and three walks over six innings. Not quite two weeks before that, the Cubs scored three runs off Pivetta, who walked three and allowed three hits before being removed after three innings. “I watched that start back,” Pivetta said Monday. “… I think I got myself more into trouble than I needed to. I was walking more hitters. I had bases loaded three times in that game. So staying out of those situations, getting ahead of guys, attacking the strike zone and allowing my defense to make plays — getting ahead in the dugout will lead to success.”It had been apparent for a few days that the Padres were leaning toward Cease to start Game 2. The rotation for this series likely would have been different had King been able to establish his pitches over the past four starts. Instead, King will be available out of the bullpen along with fellow starter Randy Vásquez. But the Padres feel better about Cease, who closed with his best stretch of the season, posting a 2.86 ERA in 22 innings over his final four starts. A part of the consideration was his success against the Cubs. He has a 0.96 ERA over three starts against them in the past two seasons and has a 2.50 ERA in three career starts at Wrigley Field. “Dylan has been good, throwing the ball more consistently lately,” manager Mike Shildt said. “… He has thrown the ball well here. He has thrown the ball well against this club. And Dylan has a big arm, and we feel he’s the guy we feel is the best suited for Game 2.” The move also made sense to the Padres in that King has extensive experience out of the bullpen, while Cease and Darvish have never pitched in relief. And if King is not needed in the Wild Card Series, he would be available to start Game 1 if the Padres advance to the Division Series.A final decision regarding the status of Elias Díaz, who departed Saturday’s game with tightness in his left oblique, probably will not be made until Tuesday morning.Martín Maldonado and Luis Campusano are on the taxi squad, and one of them will likely be on the roster for this series. It could be as a third catcher if Díaz is determined to be OK to play.He will start Game 1 if he is active, because he has been behind the plate for all of Pivetta’s starts this season. If Díaz cannot go, Freddy Fermin is expected to start every game, with the extra catcher being there solely in case of an emergency. While Campusano had an outstanding season in Triple-A, he went 0-for-21 in two stints with the Padres and was never used at catcher. Even as Maldonado hit below .200 most of the season, the Padres stuck with the veteran catcher, who split time with Díaz until being designated for assignment when Fermin was acquired at the trade deadline. Maldonado re-signed with the Padres on Aug. 31 so that he was eligible for the postseason. He continued to work out but has not caught in a game since July 30.The Padres, who lost Ramón Laureano to a fractured finger last week, appear to have settled on Gavin Sheets as their starter in left field. Shildt does value defense highly, and he had left open the possibility of going with Bryce Johnson for that reason. But it always seemed likely the potential for Sheets to get an extra-base hit was going to win out despite his limitations in the field. It can get especially tricky playing the outfield at Wrigley, where the wind whips in different directions, sometimes from inning to inning.Homeless people’s belongings are rarely stored after encampment sweeps, records showPac-12 power rankings: San Diego State jumps after road win featuring dominant defenseReports of ‘blind mule’ drug couriers grow in San Diego-Tijuana region. ‘It continues to happen.’San Diego County spent $36M on big legal payouts just last year. Here’s what’s costing taxpayers the most. San Diego County spent $36M on big legal payouts just last year. Here’s what’s costing taxpayers the most.
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