Padres Put 2 More Players on IL as 6-Game Skid Drops Club to .500

Q: Is the modern playoff format forgiving enough to save a team this broken?

Yes — the format is forgiving enough to keep the Padres alive, but not forgiving enough to excuse playing like this much longer. The expanded 12-team playoff field has clearly widened the path. Since 2022, multiple clubs have reached October despite being under .500 after 25, 50, and even 81 games, and several have survived brutal 9-19 type stretches. That matters for San Diego, which is only 43-44, three games out of the final NL wild card, even after a six-game skid and a wave of injuries. The problem is that the Padres are not dealing with one bad week. Their rotation is badly depleted, with Randy Vásquez now joining Nick Pivetta, Joe Musgrove, Lucas Giolito, Matt Waldron and Yu Darvish on the injured list or out long term. The staff has a 10.48 ERA during the losing streak, and the team has gone six straight games without a starter reaching five innings. That is not a small slump; it is structural damage. There are still reasons they are not finished. Germán Márquez is back and could stabilize a rotation spot. Jason Adam’s MRI showed only a minor strain, and Luis Campusano’s return should help an offense that has been one of baseball’s weakest. The wild-card race remains crowded enough that a healthy two- or three-week run can change the picture quickly. But the margin is shrinking. The modern format can save a damaged team; it rarely saves one that stays this thin in the rotation and this poor offensively. For the Padres, the format offers time, not immunity.

3 articles · Updated · MLB.com · Oct 13

San Diego added Randy Vásquez and Freddy Fermin to the injured list before Friday’s game in Los Angeles, further straining a roster hit by mounting injuries.
Vásquez has a right ankle contusion after fainting on the way to an X-ray, but tests found no fracture and cleared the fainting episode; the Padres expect the stint will not be long.
Fermin went on the IL with a head contusion after a foul ball struck his mask, and manager Craig Stammen said he cleared concussion protocol despite a previous concussion-related IL stay last month.
Five starters are now on the IL when Vásquez is included, leaving Germán Márquez as the leading option to fill the rotation spot after his return Thursday; Alek Jacob was promoted.
The Padres got some relief elsewhere: Luis Campusano returned from a toe fracture to replace Fermin, and Jason Adam said an MRI showed only a minor shoulder strain with an early-to-mid August target.