The Padres game brought a clear roster shift on June 23, 2026: Lucas Giolito went on the 15-day injured list with right elbow inflammation, and JP Sears came up to take his spot. The move landed on a staff already carrying pressure from a 4.54 ERA and a 40-37 record.
Giolito’s first seven starts
Giolito made seven appearances before the injury move, and the numbers explained why the Padres could not absorb many more rough turns. He posted a 5.16 ERA with a 13 percent strikeout rate and a 16.7 percent walk rate for the Padres.
His four-seamer has also played differently this year. It averaged 90.8 miles per hour, down from 93.3 mph last year, after he had put together a 3.41 ERA over 145 innings for the Red Sox in 2025.
JP Sears enters the rotation
The Padres recalled Sears to cover the roster spot, and he was expected to start the next game while Randy Vásquez was pushed to Friday. That gave the club an immediate answer for the next turn without waiting through the full 15-day IL window.
Sears arrives with a 7.92 ERA in Triple-A this year, so the move is less about easing into a luxury and more about getting through a stretch. The Padres had Thursday off and then faced 17 games in a row leading into the All-Star break.
Padres rotation pressure
The injury lands on a staff that had already been leaning on Michael King and Walker Buehler while Griffin Canning carried a 6.64 ERA and Randy Vásquez had a 5.10 ERA over his past 12 outings and a 6.91 ERA over his past six. Germán Márquez and Matt Waldron were also on rehab assignments, leaving the Padres thin even before Giolito went on the IL.
That is the part that turns this from a routine roster note into a real rotation test. Giolito had missed the 2024 season while recovering from internal brace surgery, said in November that he was fully healthy, and then ended up back on the 15-day IL with another elbow issue.
How severe the inflammation is will shape whether this stays a short absence or becomes another longer stretch without a rotation arm. For now, the Padres have to bridge 17 straight games with one less starter and Sears in line to cover the next one.
