PEORIA, Ariz. -- Nick Martínez has reported to Padres camp, and the race for a place at the back end of the San Diego rotation is officially underway.
Earlier this week, manager Bob Melvin noted that four spots in the Padres' starting rotation are "set in stone," those places belonging to Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, Blake Snell and a healthy Mike Clevinger.
Beyond that, it's an open competition, with Chris Paddack and Martínez at the forefront. Ryan Weathers and MacKenzie Gore (the club's No. 4 prospect) are also in the mix, plus the Padres are still deciding on a role for right-hander Dinelson Lamet, who will be stretched out over multiple innings this spring.
"[The competition starts] once we get going," Melvin said. "You have to have starting pitching depth. That's become increasingly important as the years go along."
The Padres think they have it. That was the impetus behind signing Martínez, who arrived at camp on Wednesday and threw two simulated innings on Thursday. (Martínez had agreed to a four-year deal with the Padres just prior to the lockout, but the deal wasn't finalized until Wednesday.)
In an ideal world, the Padres' top four starters would stay healthy through the spring, and the final place would come down to Paddack and Martínez. Or perhaps there's room for both in an early-season six-man rotation, with Gore and Weathers pushing the two of them.
"I love the competition," said Martínez, who posted a 1.62 ERA in 23 starts in Japan last season. "I'm ready to rock and roll, ready to get out there and compete."
Officially, that competition begins Friday, with Gore slated to take the ball for the Padres' Cactus League opener against Seattle, available live on MLB.TV at 1:10 p.m. PT.
Melvin knew he was walking into a juggernaut of a division when he agreed to become the Padres' manager in October. That path only got tougher on Wednesday night, when the Dodgers reached an agreement with superstar first baseman Freddie Freeman.
"It's not a surprise," Melvin said. "I try not to get too focused on what other teams are doing. ... Our focus is going to be on our team. Our focus is just going to be on a particular day and trying to get it right.
"If you look too far ahead, and you look too much at what other teams are doing, maybe it affects you some. At least at this point in time, it is what it is. You just expect them to load up."
Pomeranz ready to put injury trouble behind him
Drew Pomeranz estimates that he's actually torn the flexor tendon in his left elbow three or four times over the last six years. Each time, he rehabbed it without surgery, and each time, the injury recurred.
Last spring, Pomeranz felt his elbow flare up again. He gutted through it for four months, posting a 1.75 ERA over 27 appearances, despite sporadic stints on the IL. Then, in August, his season came to an early end. (And, probably not coincidentally, the Padres' bullpen began to flounder after that.)
"It sucked," Pomeranz said. "I'm pretty sure I tore this last March. ... I was just trying to empty the tank and do everything I could to help us win. But it was kind of inevitable that whenever I did stop, I had to go ahead and take care of it."
Pomeranz underwent flexor-tendon surgery last August. This spring, he's playing regular catch, though he's yet to throw any bullpen sessions or face live hitters.
Pomeranz will almost certainly open the season on the IL as he builds his arm back up (leaving the Padres' closer situation up in the air). But when he does return, Pomeranz expects to be his usual dominant self out of the bullpen -- and on the mound as often as possible.
"That was the thought behind it: Go ahead and get it taken care of," Pomeranz said. "Hopefully we don't have to deal with it anymore. I don't want to be healthy, then hurt, then healthy, then hurt. I hate that."
• When Martínez finished his two innings, Clevinger and Musgrove pitched two innings apiece as well. For Clevinger, who is coming off 2020 Tommy John surgery, it marked the first time he'd faced hitters in camp (though he'd already been throwing to hitters during the offseason).
Clevinger struck out Manny Machado on three straight fastballs to begin his outing. But Machado got him back in his next at-bat, hammering a hanging curveball over the left-field fence.
• Melvin noted that the doctor who performed Fernando Tatis Jr.'s wrist surgery on Wednesday had also performed wrist surgery on Melvin three decades ago. Added Melvin on Tatis' surgery, done by Dr. Don Sheridan: "It went as well as it could possibly go."
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