RADIO
Kyle Hart Earns No. 5 Rotation Spot For Padres
San Diego Padres left-hander Kyle Hart will open the year as the team's No. 5 starting pitcher, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune's Kevin Acee. Hart opened spring training with the Friars competing with right-handers Randy Vasquez and Stephen Kolek for the fifth rotation spot, but an extra spot opened up with Yu Darvish (elbow) opening the year on the injured list. Kolek was optioned to Triple-A El Paso on Monday. The 32-year-old southpaw is making his return to the big leagues for the first time since 2020, when he made three starts for the Red Sox. He had a 2.69 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 28.8% strikeout rate an 6.0% walk rate in the Korean league in 2024 but will now be facing much better competition. Hart will have to pitch much better than he did in two spring starts (eight earned runs allowed in 7 2/3 innings) to stick around at the back end of SD's starting rotation. He's a stash candidate in NL-only formats for now.
Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune - Kevin Acee
Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune - Kevin Acee
