Kyle Hart

Both runs allowed by Hart came off of solo homers, and outside of that the southpaw was solid in his first start as a member of the Padres. The southpaw struck out four while generating 10 swings-and-misses over his 80 pitches while walking just one. Hart has a tenuous hold on his fifth spot in the rotation, but this was a good building block. He's scheduled to face the Cubs on Sunday.

Cease and Opening Day starter Michael King are the only locks in San Diego's starting rotation mix at the moment as a result of spring training injuries to Yu Darvish (elbow) and Matt Waldron (oblique). It'll be some combination of Nick Pivetta, Kyle Hart and Randy Vasquez taking the ball for the Padres, but the exact order has yet to be determined. There should be some clarity prior to Thursday's season-opener.

The Padres announced that they’ve optioned Stephen Kolek, Ron Marinaccio, Luis Campusano and Connor Joe to Triple-A El Paso. None of those players will start the season on the major league roster. Kolek’s demotion is most notable, as it essentially finalizes the Opening Day rotation. Kyle Hart and Randy V squez will open the year as the respective fourth and fifth starters…

It'll be Kyle Hart and Randy Vasquez opening the season in San Diego's starting rotation with Kolek heading to the minors. The Padres' decision to carry Yuli Gurriel, Gavin Sheets, Jose Iglesias and Brandon Lockridge over Joe are a bit surprising.

Hart will open the 2025 season as the fifth starter for the Padres, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.