Jhony Brito’s name belongs on the Padres’ rotation radar after another strong outing at Triple-A El Paso.
In his latest start, Brito didn’t walk away with the win, but the performance itself was hard to ignore. He covered five innings, allowed two hits, gave up three runs with none of them earned, and finished with two walks and six strikeouts.
The rough patch came early, when a first-inning throwing error opened the door, Brito issued a walk, and a two-out homer pushed the inning off track. After that, though, he settled down and retired 13 of the final 15 batters he faced.
That’s the kind of line that should make a club in need of starting help take a longer look.
The Padres’ rotation picture remains unsettled. Randy Vásquez has gone from a strong start to the season to looking very human.
There’s still no timetable on Joe Musgrove or Nick Pivetta. Matt Waldron is working his way back, but not pitching like someone who deserves a rotation spot right now.
Germán Márquez has been rehabbing, though he still brings his own questions. And Griffin Canning…you know?
That leaves Brito as at least a real internal possibility. His numbers in the Pacific Coast League stand out: a 0.96 ERA across 18 2/3 innings. But the 4.76 FIP underneath that ERA is a reminder not to get too carried away.
Still, the Padres don’t need every depth option to be perfect. They need innings.
Craig Stammen pointed that out after the Padres were lapped in a 15-3 loss, with the bullpen clearly taking on too much work this season. The bigger need is for pitchers who can work through a lineup without forcing the relief corps to start gearing up in the fourth inning.
Brito just did that in one of the more hitter-friendly settings in the minors. Five innings, no earned runs, six strikeouts - that’s at least something worth tracking. And even if he’s not ready to jump into the rotation right away, he could have value as a bridge arm out of the bullpen.
There’s also a different shape to his arsenal now. In that start, he leaned on his changeup and slider, using those two pitches for 52 of his 72 pitches. That kind of mix matters, especially for a pitcher trying to separate himself from the usual depth-arm crowd.
The changeup, in particular, looked real. It produced a 50 percent whiff rate on 16 swings. That’s the pitch the Padres need to keep an eye on.
If Brito has truly found something there, he becomes more than just another emergency name on the list. He becomes a legitimate option worth considering.
In Other News...
Joe Musgrove Update Just Made The Padres Rotation Feel Even Thinner
Joe Musgroves path back has taken another frustrating turn, and it leaves the Padres waiting on one of the pitchers they had hoped would help stabilize the rotation after Tommy John surgery. The right-hander is still sidelined by an elbow setback from spring training, and his recovery has been anything but linear as he works through the physical hurdles that come with getting back on a mound.
Musgrove has been candid about how the rehab process can stall when the elbow does not cooperate, which is part of why he remains unable to build back toward game speed. San Diego is still holding out hope for help later in the season, but Musgrove is hardly the only name on the injured list of possible rotation answers, with several other starters also working their way back or limited, leaving the depth chart looking awfully thin in the meantime. [Read more 🡒]
Craig Stammen Owns Padres Mistake Fans Saw Coming Against Dodgers
Craig Stammens first season running the Padres has already come with a reminder that the job is as much about timing as talent. After Randy Vsquez ran into trouble against the Dodgers, Stammen owned the fact that he could have handled the outing better, saying he needed to do a better job putting his starter in position to succeed and weighing the bullpen more cleanly against the need to keep the game within reach.
The decision point was obvious enough to spark second-guessing, especially in a game that stayed tight long enough to make every move matter. Stammen said the challenge is finding that line between preserving relievers and acting before an inning gets away, and he framed the experience as part of the learning curve that comes with managing in the majors. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Suddenly Have A Yu Darvish Question Again
Yu Darvishs status has become one of those quiet Padres storylines that can suddenly get loud again. The right-hander was coming back from internal brace surgery and had initially ruled himself out for 2026, but the tone around his rehab has shifted enough to make the future feel less settled than it did a few months ago. Manager Craig Stammen and president of baseball operations A.J. Preller have both acknowledged the uncertainty, and Darvish remains on the restricted list while continuing his work.
What makes this worth watching is that Darvish has denied retirement talk and is still under contract, which keeps the door open for a return whenever he is ready. Stammen even left open the possibility of a late-season surprise, the kind of development that would change the Padres pitching picture in an instant. For now, there is no clean answer on when that might happen, only the sense that Darvishs comeback timeline is no longer as fixed as it once seemed. [Read more 🡒]