Padres relievers inching forward in rehabs.
Drew Pomeranz threw a bullpen session Thursday afternoon at Petco Park, his first since a setback while throwing to hitters halted his progression back from the lat strain that has sidelined him since mid-May.
Another left-hander joined Pomeranz on the field in continuing an even longer journey back to the bigleague team:
Matt Strahm.
The 29-year-old veteran had largely been relegated to rehabbing his offseason knee surgery at the Padres’ spring training complex in Peoria, Ariz.
He has joined the Padres for at least this homestand to continue his work with the big-league training staff, as well as ultimately throw some bullpen sessions in front of pitching coach Larry Rothschild and bullpen coach Ben Fritz.
“He’s been progressing,” Padres manager Jayce Tingler said Thursday afternoon. “It’s a chance for him to work with the major league trainers and then
also with Larry and Fritz on the pitching stuff as he’s starting to get back on the mound. We’re still a little ways away, but it’s nice to have him back so he can worth with us and start getting it ready.”
Strahm remains without a specific timeline.
He underwent patellar tendon surgery on his right knee at the end of October. He underwent a similar procedure on his right knee in July 2017 — before the Padres acquired him later that month — and the recovery pushed his San Diego debut until the following May.
Strahm pitched with discomfort in his right knee for
much of 2020. The injury forcing him to the injured list from Sept. 11 through Sept. 22. He finished the regular season with a 2.61 ERA, an 0.87 WHIP and a .189 opponent average over 202⁄3 innings.
He has a 3.66 ERA in three seasons with the Padres.
His return figures to further bolster a relief corps that ranks second in the majors with a 2.66 ERA, even after allowing seven earned runs in 112⁄3 innings earlier this week at Coors Field.
Pomeranz is much closer to joining that group after Thursday’s bullpen.
He’s expected to throw another session in the coming days before moving on to live batting practice, which is where he was at in his progression last month when tightness in his left lat forced a shutdown.
“We feel he’s in a pretty good spot,” Tingler said. “Now it’s just going to be a little bit of the buildup from missing some time to get back into game shape, more
so from a pitching standpoint.”
Pomeranz’s return is expected by the end of the month or the beginning of July, although he could still require a rehab assignment.
The 32-year-old Pomeranz had a 1.98 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 132⁄3 innings when a shoulder impingement originally forced him to the injured list.
Lawson update
Right-hander Reggie Lawson threw two perfect innings in his second rehab start at Double-A San Antonio on Tuesday. His fastball sitting 92-95 mph, Lawson struck out two, didn’t allow a base runner and threw 17 of his 25 pitches for strikes.
Lawson is on the comeback from last spring’s Tommy John surgery and could emerge as an option to pick up big-league innings later this summer. He’s an arm the Padres figure to have an eye on, too, as he’s already on the 40-man roster — and not on the 60-day injured list — and won’t require
a 40-man move to activate him.
The 23-year-old Lawson is ranked No. 11 in the Padres system by Baseball America.
He appeared poised for a breakout after striking out 14 in 11 innings (0.82 ERA) in the Arizona Fall League in 2019 before undergoing surgery last spring, wiping away all of 2020.
Notable
Like Pomeranz, C Austin Nola (knee sprain) remains on track to return to the team by the end of the month or the beginning of July. He’s expected to ramp up his agility work in the coming days as he moves toward baseball activity.
The Reds and Padres will wear hats from the USS Cincinnati and USS San Diego, respectively, during batting practice today. Both ships are based in San Diego. The hats will then be signed and auctioned off to support each team’s foundation.