Padres shut down MacKenzie Gore for 2019 regular season
Credit: MiLB
The San Diego Padres are reportedly shutting down MacKenzie Gore for the rest of the 2019 season with hopes he may return to pitch a playoff game for the Sod Poodles.
MacKenzie Gore will likely not pitch again for the Amarillo Sod Poodles during the 2019 regular season.
Nothing physically is wrong with the pitcher; the Padres are just cautious with the 20-year-old left-hander.
He has totaled 99 1/3 innings this season which is 39 innings more than he hurled last year in Fort Wayne. That is a significant increase for the pitcher, and the Padres will wisely take caution with their #1 pitching prospect. It is all about the future.
The Sod Poodles will get Luis Patino to replace Gore in the rotation. Patino is only 19 years old and will be the youngest player in the entire Texas League. He was just promoted from Lake Elsinore where the Colombian teenager went 6-8 with a 2.69 ERA in 18 games and 87 innings pitched. The fireballing right-handed pitcher should still have some innings left in him as he totaled 83 innings last year in Fort Wayne at the low Single-A level.
This may not be the last we see of Gore as there are indications that the pitcher could return for the playoffs. The Soddies already won the first half of the Texas League South division in 2019 and clinched a playoff birth. They currently have a six-game lead in the second half and could walk away with a clean sweep.
Jeff Sanders of the UT gives us his take and some quotes from Padres’ management.
OK, breathe people.
MacKenzie Gore, with an eye on his workload has been shut down. He will continue to throw on the side. #Padres aren’t ruling out potentially firing him up again for @sodpoodles playoffs. https://t.co/Qs6aUrbiaL pic.twitter.com/Ypull9iZHO
— Jeff Sanders (@sdutSanders) August 8, 2019
The Padres are doing what they need to protect the future of the franchise.
James was born and raised in America’s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that’s our motto. Enjoy.
I’m telling you he’s injured