Amid slide, Padres fire pitching coach
The San Diego Padres fired pitching coach Larry Rothschild on Monday as the franchise tries to stop its free-fall in the National League playoff race.
Rothschild, 67, has been with the Padres for the past two seasons. San Diego has lost nine of its past 11 games and fallen to third place in the NL West, 13 games behind the first-place Giants.
The Padres fell one game behind the Cincinnati Reds in the race for the second NL wild card after losing Sunday.
Padres manager Jayce Tingler said he has discussed the struggles of the pitching staff — particularly the rotation — for a few weeks with general manager A.J. Preller and other front office staff.
But Tingler was adamant that the move to fire Rothschild was “100%” his decision.
“Instead of waiting and seeing what’s going to happen and staying stagnant, I thought the best thing to do for this team moving forward is to bring in a different voice, different message, different perspective right now,” Tingler said.
Former A’s minorleague pitcher Ben Fritz, a San Jose native who had been the Padres’ bullpen coach, was named the interim pitching coach.
“He’s done a great job with our bullpen,” Tingler said. “He’s one of the reasons our bullpen has performed very well this year. With his experience, knowing the system, knowing the guys, being able to provide his perspective, ultimately I think is going to give us our best chance to pitch to our capabilities down the stretch.”
After a good start to the season, San Diego’s pitching staff has regressed, especially in recent weeks. The group has a 4.82 ERA in August.
Three of the Padres’ main starting pitchers — Yu Darvish, Chris Paddack and Dinelson Lamet — are on the injured list. So is Drew Pomeranz, one of the team’s top relievers. Medical report: The Rays activated designated hitter Nelson Cruz from the COVID-19 IL a day after he was placed on it after feeling sick. A coronavirus test was negative . ... The Rangers put infielder Brock Holt and pitchers Drew Anderson and Mike Foltynewicz on the COVID-19 IL, and catcher Jonah Heim was placed in COVID protocols as a close contact . ... Twins right-hander Kenta Maeda, who left his start Saturday because of right forearm stiffness, and Yankees reliever Zack Britton (elbow sprain) were placed on the 10-day IL. ... The list of players activated from the IL includes Yankees pitcher Clay Holmes, Red Sox infielder Christian Arroyo and Diamondbacks reliever Joe Mantiply.
Briefly: Third baseman Maikel Franco, who is batting .210 with 11 homers and 47 RBIs in 104 games, was designated for assignment by the Orioles . ... Reliever Michael Feliz was designated for assignment by the Reds . ... The Nationals claimed first baseman Mike Ford off waivers from the Rays.