MLB PLAYER NEWS

Padres shut down Ross, ponder same for Despaigne

The Sports Xchange

September 23, 2014 at 1:32 am.

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Odrisamer Despaigne. Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

SAN DIEGO — After officially shutting down right-handed starter Tyson Ross on Monday, the San Diego Padres might be ready to do the same with right-handed starter Odrisamer Despaigne.

“We decided early this afternoon that Tyson would not pitch again this season,” Padres manager Bud Black said. “If the season had continued for another week or two, we would have seen Ross again. This is much more about how his arm feels than shutting him down (for workload).”

Ross has battled pain in the flexor mass of his right forearm since making his last start Sept. 13.

“There’s a slight strain in the flexor area,” Black said. “He still needs another week to allow the soreness to go away.

“The doctors are not concerned about this. Tyson is not concerned. It will go away with rest. We’ve just run out of games.”

Ross, 27, finishes the season 13-14 with a 2.81 ERA. He has 195 strikeouts in 195 2/3 innings. His .230 opponents’ batting average is the fifth-best mark in the National League, and his ERA ranks 10th.

“I set a lot of career highs this season, and I’m looking forward to next season,” Ross said Monday before the Padres’ 1-0 win over the Colorado Rockies. “I just ran out of time. The forearm is feeling better. Like Buddy said, if this season was two weeks longer, I’m pitching again.”

Black also said Despaigne is questionable when it comes to making another start. Despaigne came out of his start Friday nursing discomfort in his latissimus dorsi muscle.

“He played catch today,” Black said of Despaigne. “He’s responded well. He could start again. He wants to start again.”