SAN DIEGO-- It's been a minute since the San Diego Padres had some positive news on their injured starting pitchers.
But on Tuesday afternoon, manager Mike Shildt provided reasons for optimism on Michael King, who has been sidelined with a pinched nerve in his right shoulder since May 24th. Shildt says King, who threw approximately 25-30 times on Monday from 105 feet, had a good first step in his long road back.
"I don't want to create too much optimism but there is some optimism," said Shildt. "I want to temper it. Michael had a really good day yesterday. Threw at 105 feet, had control of where the ball was going which he just hasn't had and didin't have to overcompensate to try to force it to get it anywhere. More of a natural throw for him, the intensity wasn't very high but the good news his arm was working and moving forward and he was able to kind of feel the baseball. It was a good first step."
King will not have a chance to return to the Padres until after the All-Star break at the earliest, but Yu Darvish continues to make progress in his return. Shildt says Darvish, who hasn't pitched all year due to shoulder inflammation, will throw a simulated game on Wednesday in Lake Elsinore. Darvish is expected to throw two to three innings depending on how he feels.
"It puts him in what we think to be a pretty good spot. If he can get through two to three innings and then recover, now we're getting closer to something back to a progression that gets him here."
Padres infielder Luís Arraéz is batting cleanup for the the third straight game. Although the three-time batting champ has batted primarily second in-between Fernando Tatís and Manny Machado, Arráez said moving down in the order wasn't an issue for him.
"If it's something for how the team wins, I'll be there, said Arráez. "Batting fourth, batting ninth, batting sixth, whatever spot. I just need the opportunity to go there and do something for the team, I go there and do it.
For me everything is easy especially when we have really good communication, especially with a great manager. We have very good communication. So I say yes, put me there and then let's see what happens."
The Padres gave up a lot in 2022 when they made a blockbuster trade with the Washington Nationals for "generational talent" Juan Soto.
"Shout-out to AJ for signing them but also trading them."
— Marty Caswell (@MartyCaswell) June 23, 2025
Fernando Tatís isn't surprised that James Wood is turning into a star.@SportingTrib pic.twitter.com/0tckqzJFBH
On Monday night, outfielder James Wood showed Padres fans exactly what AJ Preller and the front office knew he would turn into in his Petco Park debut. Wood went 3-for-4 with four RBI and his 22nd home run of the season. Wood and shortstop CJ Abrams combined to go 6-for-10 with four RBI and six runs scored in the Nationals 10-6 win. Mackenzie Gore, another key piece of the trade, starts against the Padres in the Wednesday matinee.
The soft-spoken Wood, the Padres second-round draft pick from 2021, said his first time playing at Petco Park was a "cool" experience.
"It was great. This is a really nice park, great fan base. It's the team I got drafted by. I definitely did take a little second today. It was cool."
The Padres have several holes to fill ahead of the July 31st MLB trade deadline. A starting pitcher if not two, the hole in left field, a bench piece or two and an upgrade at catcher to start.
So how aggressive will Padres President of baseball ops A.J. Preller be with such an extensive shopping list? As Padres fans know, it's never been boring around the deadline during his 10-year tenure.
"We've got one of the more aggressive general manager," said Shildt. "I mean you know it's hard to qualify who's the best general manager. I wouldn't trade him for anything, speaking of trades. He's done a tremendous job. I have complete confidence in A.J. and anything he does relative to our roster. As to how aggressive he's going to be, I think he's going to be as aggressive as the parameters within what he has to work with will be. Him and his lieutenants do a great job knowing this league and know what the possibilities and evaluating our team. And I can tell you this, he's proven consistently to be able to give us the best chances he can within the resources he has to help us contribute to winning a division and World Series."