By Jordan Long
The San Diego Padres are looking to improve on their 71-91 record. They decided to keep one of their own pitchers. Jordan Lyles agreed to a 1-year deal with a club option for 2019.
Lyles started last season with the Colorado Rockies. It was a poor year in a Rockies uniform. In 33 innings his ERA was 6.94 with a record of 0-2. Colorado couldn’t trust him coming into games from the bullpen. Lyles left the ball in the zone where hitters crushed the ball. Some of them were home runs as he gave up 11, far too many. Colorado decided they had seen enough and released him on August 2nd.
The Padres signed Lyles soon after the Rockies cut him. The Padres used him on the rotation and not the bullpen. He started 5 games and had a record of 1-3 with an era of 9.39. His command with the baseball was better only giving up 5 homeruns. He struck batters out with 22.
The Padres think he can be the 5th starter for 2018. Lyles needs work on his pitching location. He must pitch like he did at the end of 2017 where he wasn’t leaving the ball up as much. If the ball is up in the zone, those will be easy home runs for opponents to smack out of the yard.
The Padres are taking a risk. They believe he can help them win. Lyles will use Spring Training to work on his pitches. If the Padres notice he isn’t working out as a starting pitcher, they can move him to the bullpen. Lyles knows that role. Hopefully for the Padres, Lyles will be the back of the rotation pitcher they have been looking for.
What do you think of the San Diego Padres keeping Jordan Lyles?
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