Prior to the start of spring training, the Padres had their top three starters—Michael King, Dylan Cease and Yu Darvish—with Randy Vasquez and Matt Waldron available for the back end. Depth was an issue with only Henry Baez, Ryan Bergert, Omar Cruz and Jhony Brito listed on the 40-man roster with starter backgrounds. All completely unproven with only Brito having any major league exposure.
Just before spring camp began, the Padres announced that they intended to stretch former Rule 5 pick and reliever Stephen Kolek out as a starter. Again, unproven at the major league level.
February 12 and 13 provided a welcome relief to Padres fans when the announcement came through media channels that the team had signed Nick Pivetta and Kyle Hart to deals, adding two experienced pitchers to their options.