SAN DIEGO -- The timeline for Michael King’s return to the mound remains somewhat murky, but the Padres at least have a prognosis for his shoulder injury, and they say it’s positive.
King has been diagnosed with a pinched nerve in his right shoulder, with manager Mike Shildt noting that tests on that shoulder ruled out the possibility of structural damage to his capsule or his rotator cuff, as well as any potential thoracic outlet issues.
King is expected to resume playing light catch in the near future, Shildt said, though as far as timelines go, Shildt was predictably vague -- “any time between days, weeks,” he said.
“We’ve learned that nothing structurally has taken place of any concern at all,” Shildt said. “Rotator cuff, the cap, anything with the shoulder is very stable and structurally very good, so that’s obviously great. There’s nothing circulatory that’s concerning as far as thoracic, or anything like that. So that’s clearly good.
“Now we’ve been able to locate what the issue is, and it’s more nerve related. We’re trying to get a handle on how to release that nerve a little bit. … We’ve got some really smart people, including Michael, involved with the process that will get that going as soon as possible. How soon that is is to the discretion of that nerve.”
King was scratched from his scheduled start on May 24 and was subsequently placed on the 15-day injured list. The Padres remain uncertain as to how the injury arose, only noting that King felt fine up until the morning of his scheduled start that day. King has not been available for comment since the injury.
The 30-year-old right-hander was off to an excellent start to his second season as a full-time starter. Through 10 outings this season, he’s posted a 2.59 ERA with 64 strikeouts in 55 2/3 innings.
King is in his final season before free agency and is expected to be one of the market’s most sought-after arms. Naturally, it’s a positive that King appears to have avoided structural damage.
But in the short-term, his absence leaves the Padres scrambling. On Friday, they began a stretch of 26 games in 27 days. Yu Darvish remains on the IL with right elbow inflammation, and left-hander Kyle Hart was sent down prior to Friday’s series opener against Pittsburgh, as the Padres bolstered their bullpen by promoting No. 14 prospect Bradgley Rodriguez.
The rotation is currently down to four starters: Nick Pivetta, Dylan Cease, Randy Vásquez and Stephen Kolek -- currently lined up in that order. It’s unclear who would fill the fifth and final spot in the rotation against the Giants on Tuesday.
Knuckleballer Matt Waldron (left oblique strain) was scheduled to make a rehab start for Triple-A El Paso on Friday night, which would seemingly rule him out of contention for that Tuesday start. Meanwhile, Ryan Bergert, who was called up earlier this season as a reliever, has been used exclusively as a starter since his demotion to Triple-A. He last pitched for El Paso Wednesday, which could theoretically line him up to take the ball against the Giants.