One starter finished last season in the Florida State League. Another was a throw-in in the last of the Padres’ makeover transactions this summer. The other three were simply cut loose by organizations earlier this year.
Indeed, the Padres have done what they can to patch together a rotation amid a smattering of injuries of trades that have reset a one-time strength into the biggest liability heading into the final seven weeks of the season. Of course, you don’t have to look to far, rookie manager Andy Green said, to remember that the grass sometimes does grow greener on the other side of the sort of projects the Padres have taken on this summer.