On Sunday morning Padres manager Andy Green said Dinelson Lamet was going to be San Diego’s No. 2 starter.
On Sunday evening Padres manager Andy Green was wondering if he’d have to name a new No. 2 starter.
Lamet left the Cactus League finale, an 11-7 loss to the Mariners, in the second inning after complaining of pain in his pitching elbow. As of Sunday evening, it was unknown how serious the issue is. Elbow pain can be anything from a small aggravation that goes away to the need for a complete reconstruction surgery.
Clayton Richard is the Opening Day starter and Luis Perdomo will handle game three. Bryan Mitchell and Tyson Ross are the presumptive fourth and fifth starters. If Lamet has to miss his scheduled start on Friday against the Brewers at Petco Park the club has multiple options to replace him.
One of them is 38-year-old Chris Young, who was going to pitch on a backfield on Sunday but when Lamet left early he was pressed into game duty. Young was already being considered as a starting or long relief option, along with lefty Robbie Erlin, who is back from a Tommy John surgery (replacement of the ulnar collateral ligament in the elbow) and threw well in Cactus League play.
The concern with Erlin is an innings limit in his first year back from the procedure so he’s likely to be used mostly as a reliever. Another possibility that would excite Padres fans is bringing up one of the highly-regarded youngsters: Joey Lucchesi or Eric Lauer.
Lucchesi was one of the best pitchers in the Texas League in 2017 and sparkled in Spring Training, allowing just two earned runs in 11.2 innings. Lauer gave up three runs in 10.2 innings but had a stellar 10-2 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Both were recently assigned to minor league camp but both are also expected to make their big league debuts sometime in 2018. It just might be sooner instead of later.
