Ryan Weathers on deck to start Wednesday for Padres

The Padres will call up Ryan Weathers to start Wednesday’s game against the Cubs.

Acting manager Ryan Flaherty confirmed after Tuesday’s 12-5 victory that the 22-year-old Weathers would join the team in Chicago and make his 2022 debut.

While the young left-hander has struggled in Triple-A, where he has a 7.29 ERA in 12 starts for El Paso, there is a hope pitching back in the majors prompts a change. Weathers made 18 starts and pitched 12 times in relief for the Padres in 2021.

Moreover, someone else starting Wednesday allows the Padres to avoid having Joe Musgrove start on four days’ rest, which he hasn’t done since May 1. Musgrove is scheduled to start Thursday’s series finale at Wrigley Field.

The Padres have an opening in their rotation because Mike Clevinger was placed on the COVID injured list on Saturday along with long reliever Adrian Morejón. That forced the team to move up by one day the starts by Nick Martinez, Yu Darvish and Sean Manaea, who all still got five days’ rest.

Musgrove was the last Padres starter to have just four days between starts.

Entering Tuesday, the team’s starters have gone at least six innings a major league-leading 38 times and at least seven innings a major league-leading 14 times. Their average of 5.7 innings per start and 92 pitches per start are also highest in the majors. Manager Bob Melvin has several times said the ability to provide the starters with extra rest has made him comfortable allowing them to go longer in games.

Musgrove said Monday he could be ready to go on what is standard rest but has effectively become short rest for Padres’ starters. But he also voiced his fondness for the extra time a six-man rotation has created for rest and recovery.

Musgrove will take a 1.50 ERA and a 7-0 record into Thursday’s start.

Weathers, the Padres’ second-ranked pitching prospect before last season began, started his rookie season strong. He took a 2.73 ERA into a July 30 start against the Rockies before allowing eight runs in four innings that night and 31 runs over his next 20 2/3 innings. He spent September pitching out of the bullpen and finished the season with 5.32 ERA and 1.38 WHIP over 94 2/3 innings.

Reiss Knehr had a 7.84 ERA in Triple-A when he was called up Saturday and threw 4 2/3 scoreless innings of relief that night.