SAN DIEGO -- Bryan Hoeing is back. Yu Darvish is on his way back. And Michael King? Well, there’s at least some clarity regarding the nature of his injury and the reason he’s optimistic he’ll pitch again this season.
The Padres’ beleaguered pitching staff got some much-needed positive news on Saturday with the activation of Hoeing, who had yet to pitch this season because of a right shoulder strain. He’ll join the bullpen, likely filling the same middle-innings role he served in last season.
The questions in the rotation continue to linger -- which manager Mike Shildt acknowledged has caused a bit of extra strain on that bullpen lately. Here’s the latest on all three -- King, Darvish and Hoeing.
King: Light catch and clarity on his nerve issue
King has spent the past several weeks visiting various specialists around the country -- he wouldn’t specify how many -- to get clarity on the best way to recover from the pinched nerve in his right shoulder area that has kept him sidelined for the past month. The prognosis?
“Everybody says with nerves it’s just a time thing,” King said. “I’m doing everything I possibly can to get it going. And I know that everybody tells me that it will come back quickly, and I’m just in that lull right now where I’m just trying to keep the body going and be ready to go as soon as I can.”
In the meantime, King is playing light catch, though he’s not doing so as any part of a throwing progression. He’s merely doing it to keep his arm active.
The trickiest aspect of the recovery is the uncommon nature of the injury. King divulged that the specific injury is to his long thoracic nerve. There’s virtually no precedent for a baseball pitcher going through that. It’s more common in swimmers and volleyball players, he said. The closest comparison was Tigers outfielder Parker Meadows’ nerve injury earlier this season.
As King noted, nerve issues tend to resolve with time and rest, and Meadows was back with Detroit after about three months. It’s frustrating, King said, but given the recovery times of other nerve injuries, he expects to return in the second half.
“Obviously, it’s a healing process,” King said. “I’ve got a ton of confidence that what we’re doing is the correct thing to do. And I’ve felt my body progressing in great ways, so I’m very confident that I will pitch by the end of the year.”
Darvish: A second sim game and perhaps a rehab soon
The Padres have sorely missed King and Darvish in their starting rotation. Darvish, at least, is building his way toward a return from right elbow inflammation.
On Friday, the veteran right-hander pitched a two-inning simulated game at Petco Park, throwing around 40 pitches. It was Darvish’s second such outing since he began ramping back up. (Darvish, who hasn’t pitched this season, was briefly shut down after he felt soreness following a May rehab start.)
“It looks like he’s recovering well,” Shildt said of Darvish’s sim game. “Going to talk with the medical staff, we’re going to figure out his next steps.”
It’s possible that next step is a rehab outing or two, which leaves open the possibility Darvish could be back with the club before the All-Star break.
Hoeing: A much-needed bullpen reinforcement
At the back of their rotation, the Padres have gotten admirable contributions from Randy Vásquez, Stephen Kolek and Ryan Bergert. But they’ve also been forced to rely heavily on their bullpen in the absence of Darvish and King.
Hoeing’s return should be crucial in alleviating that burden. He’s a true multi-inning weapon (and last season he pitched in multiple innings in 11 of his 18 appearances for the Padres after he arrived at the Trade Deadline).
Hoeing notched a 2.18 ERA in 34 appearances in 2024, split almost evenly between Miami and San Diego. The Padres’ back-end quartet of Adrian Morejon, Jeremiah Estrada, Jason Adam and Robert Suarez remains intact. But Hoeing could also pitch in high-leverage spots in the middle innings -- though Shildt indicated he would likely get a soft landing spot for his first outing.
The Padres optioned righty Sean Reynolds to Triple-A El Paso in a corresponding move.