An already thin bullpen became even more so on Friday when the Padres learned Mark Worrell will require season-ending elbow surgery.
Worrell, who came to the Padres from St. Louis in December in the Khalil Greene deal, will undergo surgery Wednesday to repair his ulnar collateral ligament.
The 25-year-old sidewinder, who had a 4.15 ERA in four spring training appearances, last pitched against Texas on Wednesday before he was removed from the game. General manager Kevin Towers said the Padres knew almost immediately that the right-hander was in trouble because of the bruising and discoloration situated near his elbow. Worrell is expected to be out until midseason 2010.
"It's not a surprise," Towers said by phone Friday evening. "But unfortunately he's a guy we thought would be a piece to the 'pen."
The loss of Worrell, who was a leading candidate to take a bullpen spot, makes the Padres' bullpen situation behind Heath Bell and Cla Meredith more uncertain. Earlier this spring, manager Bud Black said the team will carry 12 pitchers, meaning five bullpen spots are available.
Towers said the club will look internally to fill the void. Edwin Moreno, 28, will earn a spot if he continues pitching as he has thus far this spring. Moreno, who was 5-6 with a 4.35 ERA at Triple-A Portland in 2008, has allowed one run over nine innings. Towers also said the Padres are impressed with left-hander Arturo Lopez, a seven-year minor leaguer who has a 2.57 ERA this spring.
Jae Kuk Ryu (3.38 ERA) also has impressed this spring, and the club will give Justin Hampson as much time as possible to iron out the kinks. Hampson, who has a 2.49 ERA with the Padres the past two seasons, pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings in a 5-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Friday to lower his spring ERA to 12.79. The left-hander is out of minor-league options.
Towers said the team could bring in additional arms toward the end of spring when other clubs waive pitchers without options. He also alluded to the possibility of trading for relief help, but said it was doubtful the Padres would sign a free agent pitcher.
"We've been pretty thorough talking to GM's and finding out who's on the bubble to make clubs," Towers said.
Et cetera
The Padres hosted the UC Santa Barbara women's basketball team at Petco Park on Friday afternoon. The Gauchos, who play Stanford in the NCAA tournament at Cox Arena on Saturday evening, took a 40-minute tour of the facility. … 1B Kyle Blanks hit his fourth home run this spring on Friday, a two-run blast in the first inning. Blanks is hitting .327 with 11 RBIs. … 2B David Eckstein singled and is hitting .357. … RHP Kevin Correia allowed four runs on eight hits over 4 2/3 innings in the loss to Chicago.
