SAN DIEGO - If you come to Friday's Dodgers-Padres game and a nonconference college baseball game - in which everyone on the staff gets to pitch - breaks out, don't be surprised.

Padres manager Bud Black answered the question about today's starting pitcher, saying right-hander Chris Young will start against the Diamondbacks.

But Friday's starter remains TBA in the team's press notes. And Black said flatly, "I don't know who's starting Friday." A lot, Black said, depends on Wednesday and Thursday.

Should the Padres chew up their bullpen on those days, they could bring up a pitcher from the minors. Jack Cassell, Mike Thompson, Cesar Ramos and Josh Geer all have been rumored as candidates.

But Black hinted that he'd like stay inside and go with "Charlie Wholestaff," piecing the game together with his bullpen - likely Wil Ledezma, Justin Hampson, Kevin Cameron and Joe Thatcher each getting between one and three innings.

"Are we going to use somebody you haven't seen before?" Black said. "Probably not. We know we have reinforcements coming on Saturday (when 25-man rosters can expand to 40). But if we option a player to the minors now, he can't come back until that team's season is over."

Both Triple-A Portland and Double-A San Antonio finish on Monday. So the odds are that Friday's game belongs to the Padres' bullpen.

Minor league call-ups

Black said the Padres "will have a supply" of call-ups when rosters expand Saturday.

The best bets to join the club are pitchers Clay Hensley, Cassell and Thompson, infielder Chase Headley and outfielder Paul McAnulty.

"If we had an impact player, he'd already be on the roster," Black said. "We'll also get Michael Barrett, Marcus Giles and Scott Hairston back off the disabled list at some point, so our roster will be over 30 down the stretch."

Injury update

• Barrett (concussion) caught most of the game and had three at-bats on a rehab assignment for Portland on Wednesday. He'll probably play two more games for the Beavers and be activated Saturday.

• Marcus Giles (left knee sprain) will be activated when he's eligible to come off the DL on Sept. 8.

• Hairston (strained left oblique) is still a week or 10 days away from being ready.

• Catcher Josh Bard has been playing with a sore wrist, but has adjusted his pregame work to compensate.

Et cetera

After pitching in six of the last eight games, closer Trevor Hoffman wasn't available on Wednesday. … Morgan Ensberg, Pete Laforest, Rob Mackowiak and Craig Stansberry were all out early for extra batting practice. Mackowiak and Stansberry put in several extra minutes working on push and drag bunts. … Bullpen catcher Mark Merila, who is battling brain cancer and is now confined to a wheelchair, was a pregame clubhouse visitor and was greeted warmly. … Former big leaguers Jim Kaat, Ted Simmons and Tom Candiotti were on the field before the game. … NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson of El Cajon was a pregame clubhouse visitor.

- Contact staff writer John Maffei at (760) 740-3547 or jmaffei@nctimes.com.