San Diego, CA

Bryce Miller: Jason Adam pickup solid, but Padres desperately need a starting pitcher

Published

2 years ago

July 28, 2024

Bryce Miller: Jason Adam pickup solid, but Padres desperately need a starting pitcher

BALTIMORE — The Padres shook loose the dust two days before the trade deadline. They chased down a late-innings setup arm in the Rays’ Jason Adam, someone to help bridge the gap to closer Robert Suarez.

As the clock ticks until Tuesday’s deadline, it’s still not enough.

The Padres need a starter or risk reliving 2021, when whispers about Max Scherzer and others led nowhere.

That’s when Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, Chris Paddack and Ryan Weathers all finished as sub-100 ERA+ starters, meaning all were considered below-average big-leaguers that season.

Everything imploded during a 46-game finish — the fourth worst train wreck of that length by a winning team since the 1800s — to kneecap a once-promising season.

“You want to round your team out,” Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller said Sunday in a hallway of Oriole Park at Camden Yards. “We’re still in conversation. We feel like we have internal options that we like. (Adam) Mazur coming up the other day and battling through, getting us in a position to get a win. Jhony Brito.

“We’ve got some guys that we feel good about from that standpoint.”

Internal options?

No, they don’t. Not real, bankable ones.

The Mazur Experiment has been a bust to this point. Preller tried to polish the pseudo-opener role he played in the first game of this series against the Orioles, holding things together.

Faint praise, that.

It was 2 2/3 innings, allowing an earned run in a game that began with back-to-back walks and an ERA that now stands at 7.49. No active arm outside of locked-in starters Dylan Cease, Michael King and Matt Waldron has thrown more than 45 2/3 innings for the Padres this season.

They now have one fewer internal option after this season, considering former first-round pick Dylan Lesko became part of the price tag for Adam.

The Padres could have been guilty of living an illusion that they had four starters because of the recent run of Randy Vásquez. That was before he coughed up six earned runs in two innings Sunday during a wild 8-6 loss to the Orioles.

Padres starter Randy Vasquez throws Sunday against the Orioles in Baltimore. (Terrance Williams/AP)

A few weeks ago, you know the conversations in Camp Padre felt more like this: We have three starters, so we’ve really got to beat the market bushes and find another arm or two.

Then Vásquez rode the wave of historic Padres pitching on this road trip, jumping in the wipeout Conga line with Dylan Cease, Michael King and Matt Waldron.

And if you think you suddenly have four starters, it’s easy to convince yourself that you’re not that far from five.

Momentum math can be dangerous math.

“The starting pitching, the offense, we’re shutting teams down late in the game,” Preller said of the team, which has roared out of the gates since the All-Star break. “We’re playing good teams. You have to play well, so that’s a good test for our group.

“I think we knew it was gonna be a test coming out of a break, and these guys have answered it.”

Now, it’s time for Preller to answer.

The Padres have done too much on the field, especially without platinum All-Star Fernando Tatis Jr., and starters Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish, to watch this thing wither on the vine as innings pile up.

When Tatis returns, when Musgrove returns, if Darvish returns, patching up the rotation now could pay playoff-level dividends later. Preller is enough of a baseball junkie to understand the precarious pitching ledge his team is walking.

Adam represents a piece, but should only represent a start.

The ex-Rays reliever fills a hole the Padres have struggled to patch beyond Jeremiah Estrada and, at times, Adrian Morejon. Adam also is not a free agent until 2027.

Lesko, outfielder Homer Bush Jr. and another prospect represent a hefty price. It also illustrates how many teams are scrambling for arms.

Wrangling a starter will require some elite needle-threading. There’s still the competitive balance tax reset the Padres have worked so hard to reach.

Creativity in the face of roadblocks is Preller’s specialty, however, as early-season deals for Cease and hitting machine Luis Arraez illustrated.

Doing nothing, though, could derail it all.

The 2021 deadline became known for a major swing and miss on Adam Frazier of the Pirates, who promptly forgot how to hit when he arrived in San Diego after leading baseball in hits before the trade.

The year also should be known for skipping the arms and a stretch run too thin on pitching.

This team three years later has shown pop and promise, outstanding yet taxed starting pitching and an ability to fight back that recent seasons lacked.

Short-circuiting that potential now with Tatis and Musgrove waiting in the wings would be tough to swallow.

Trade partners and deals need to make sense, of course, and decisions cannot be driven by deadline panic. Preller, though, has shown the ability to make seemingly complex things happen.

He needs to do it again.

Originally Published: July 28, 2024 at 3:09 p.m.

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San Diego, CA

The Best Things to Do in San Diego: May 2026 | San Diego Magazine

Published

9 hours ago

April 20, 2026

Press Room

The Best Things to Do in San Diego: May 2026 | San Diego Magazine

When we think of May, we think of Mother’s Day, blooming flowers, sunny skies, and lots of fun, seasonal events in the city. This month, locals can dine on the creations of James Beard Award-Winning Chefs at Rancho Bernardo Inn, or take advantage of berry season at the annual Vista Strawberry Festival. Theatre lovers can enjoy a showing of Kim’s Convenience at The Old Globe, while the San Diego Natural History Museum invites art enthusiasts to view its latest marine-themed exhibit. Grab your tickets and crack open that planner. Here are all the best things to do in San Diego this month:

Concerts & Festivals | Theater & Art Exhibits | More Fun Things to Do

Concerts & Festivals in San Diego This Month

29

Louisiana legend Juvenile, enhances by the live instrumentation of The 400 Degreez Band, will perform career hits and his newest album, Boiling Point, at House of Blues San Diego.

Photo Credit: Dahlia Katz

Theater & Art Exhibits in San Diego This Month

5/5–6/1

Turning the spotlight on contemporary LGBTQ artists, the inaugural ArtSpectrum 2026 will showcase both the grand and intimate scale of contemporary painters, photographers, and mixed media artists at Village Arts Outreach in Balboa Park.

12–24

The only ordinary element of the San Diego International Fringe Festival is the constant thrill of the extraordinary. Discover a plethora of innovative performances at venues from Pacific Beach to Baja.

5/15–6/14

A Korean-Canadian family balances tradition and assimilation from their Toronto storefront in Ins Choi’s comforting satire Kim’s Convenience, making its local premier at The Old Globe.

5/22–2/2027

Ocean debris will receive a new beginning at the San Diego Natural History Museum. Using repurposed pollution, Washed Ashore: Art to Save the Sea depicts creatively sculpted marine life.

More Fun Things to Do in San Diego This Month

4/30–5/3

Enjoy fine dining at its finest from a lineup of gastronomic titans during 54 Hours with James Beard Award-Winning Chefs. Savor elegant meals, masterclasses, tastings, and more at Rancho Bernardo Inn.

2

Unlimited bites, regional craft beers, and animal observations are on the menu for San Diego Zoo Food, Wine & Brew (with live music), a culinary evening in support of the San Diego Wildlife Alliance.

7

Spend An Evening with David Sedaris, humorist, essayist, and best-selling author. Never afraid to point the pen at himself, Sedaris will share old favorites and works in progress in the classic satirical style he’s known for at Jacobs Music Center.

15–17

Say cheese! And toast to the Cheese & Libation Expo. Explore three days of all-you-can eat and drink fare at BRICK, along with boutique shopping and bountiful pairings.

PARTNER CONTENT

10 Years In, Puffer and Malarkey Are Just Getting Started

Elevating an Icon: Inside the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Clu…

16

Stroll the private grounds of several luxurious homes, accompanied by live music, tabletop designs, and outdoor artistry, during the Secret Garden Tour, La Jolla Historical Society‘s flora and fauna fundraiser.

24

Vista recalls its days as a strawberry-producing superpower through its free Strawberry Festival. Wear your berry best fit, watch film screenings, and enter contests for shortcake, pie, and sundae indulging.

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San Diego, CA

City considering cutting funding to resource center for those experiencing homelessness

Published

21 hours ago

April 20, 2026

Press Room

City considering cutting funding to resource center for those experiencing homelessness

Last week Mayor Todd Gloria released the budget proposal for the 2027 fiscal budget. Protected homeless services is among his top priorities mentioned in the proposal. However, some of the reductions he’s proposing could impact thousands of San Diegans experiencing homelessness.

Located on 17^th and K Street, the Neil Good Day Center offers an array of services to nearly seven thousand people experiencing homelessness. The services include giving them a place to shower and do laundry, and connecting them to a case manager, among others.

“These are critical services that are helping people off the streets, but really better their lives and their health and their employment situation as well,” Deacon Vargas with Father Joe’s Villages said.

Deacon Jim Vargas heads Father Joe’s Villages, which runs the center. He said through their prevention and diversion strategies, they’ve managed to keep nearly one thousand individuals from falling into homelessness.

“So by helping them pay rent, or helping them with their utilities, or helping them to reunite with family,” Vargas said.

Right now, the city allocates at least $850,000 per year to the Neil Good Day Center, according to Vargas.

But the future and funding for these services are in limbo because of Mayor Todd Gloria’s proposed budget cuts.

“The impact to those whom we’ve been serving the Daily Center would be very severe,” Deacon Vargas said.

In a statement to NBC 7, Mayor Todd Gloria said in part, “We must find more efficient and cost-effective ways to address this crisis and prioritize funding for programs that provide shelter beds and maximize resources to programs that place people into permanent housing.”

Since it’s still at a proposal stage, Deacon Vargas said it’s unclear how the city will decide to move forward.

However, Deacon Vargas said services would be significantly reduced because they would be forced to operate solely on a budget of about half a million dollars they receive from philanthropy.

“The hours would be cut. Some days would be cut. We would have showers that might be impacted because they’re given seven days a week and we’d close two days a week, then the showers would be five days a week, the case management,” Deacon Vargas said.

Deacon Vargas is certain of one thing.

He would like to continue offering services at the Day Center, even if the city goes through with the funding cuts.

“As we work with individuals at the Day Center and at Father Joe’s Villages, the community becomes healthier as a result of it,” Deacon Vargas said.

The budget also recommends additional cuts to homeless services, but does not give specifics as to where those cuts would be.

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