Padres manager Mike Shildt has already spoken about Darvish’s status, offering optimism that the hurler will not be needing more time away from the action.

“It’s an upper neck issue, tightness,” the San Diego skipper said. “It’s just a matter of getting some rest and taking a little bit of a blow from it.”

Darvish last toed the rubber last Sunday to help the Padres score a 6-3 win on the road over division rivals Los Angeles Dodgers. In that game, Darvish went five innings long and allowed three earned runs on four hits with two walks issued and just two strikeouts.

With Darvish temporarily out of the Padres’ rotation, San Diego is going to need someone to cover his spot in the meantime. The team has yet to make an announcement about it, but they did recall Logan Gillaspie on Wednesday from Triple-A affiliate El Paso Chihuahuas. In five games (all in relief appearances) for El Paso this year, Gillaspie posted a 9.0 ERA across 5.0 total innings. He has 28 appearances in the big leagues, all with the Baltimore Orioles in 2022 and 2023, and a 4.10 ERA and 4.53 FIP in 28 appearances as a reliever.

Dylan Cease, Joe Musgrove, Michael King, and Matt Waldron will continue to be relied upon by the Padres’ staff as starters, while Jhony Brito could also potentially be the fifth starter in the meantime for San Diego while Darvish recuperates from his injury. Brito has allowed eight earned runs on five hits, but he’s also pitched for only eight innings so far this season, including pitching for just 1.1 innings in Tuesday’s 6-3 San Diego win over the Milwaukee Brewers on the road. Darvish would have been scheduled to start this coming Saturday versus the Toronto Blue Jays, so there is enough time for Brito, who has 13 career starts under his belt — all with the New York Yankees in 2023 —  to prepare for that game as a potential starter.

Padres 2024 MLB season

San Diego is right up there with the Dodgers in the early race to the top of the NL West standing. The Padres are second in the division with an 11-10 record following a 1-0 loss in Wednesday’s series finale on the road versus the Brewers. The loss to Milwaukee snapped San Diego’s three-game win streak, but the Padres still look fine of late. After starting the season winning just nine of their first 17 games, the Padres have gone 5-3, a stretch that includes a 2-1 series win in enemy territory against the high-powered Dodgers.

The Padres return home after the Milwaukee series for a three-game set versus the visiting Toronto Blue Jays beginning on Friday. San Diego’s offense has been a major strength of the team. At the time of this writing, they are No. 1 in the big leagues with 109 total runs scored and fifth overall with a .258 batting average. As for their pitching, the Friars are 15th with a 3.99 ERA and 19th with a 1.30 WHIP.