PEORIA, Ariz. -- All spring, new Padres manager Mike Shildt has called for his players to be “elite adjusters.” Friday’s unexpected rainout put that notion to the test.

San Diego scrambled to alter its pitching plans, though the club’s buildup for the start of the regular season is unaffected, Shildt said.

Yu Darvish, who was slated to pitch against the Giants, went through his full warmup (under a rainbow-clad sky) before torrential rains broke out. The team decided to instead treat Friday as a bullpen session for Darvish, pushing his next scheduled start to Monday.

"We had to get creative again with the pitching," Shildt said. "Looks like Yu's going to throw Monday, and he used yesterday as a bullpen, which works out fine. ... Elite adjusters -- got to prove it yet again."

Darvish's Monday start is now slated to be his last in Cactus League play. It will come 10 days before his presumed March 21 start against the Dodgers in Korea, which leaves open the opportunity for some form of simulated game in between the two outings once the team has landed in Seoul.

The Padres have yet to announce any of their regular-season rotation plans, though Darvish has followed Joe Musgrove all spring, and those two -- seemingly in that order -- would be lined up to start vs. L.A. in the Seoul Series. Friday's rainout doesn't seem to have altered that.

Right-hander Michael King has been building up alongside Darvish and Musgrove. That leaves open the possibility that King could start a game in Korea in an emergency. (If not, he might be available in relief, with a seven-day gap before the Padres’ next regular-season game.)

That trio -- Musgrove, Darvish and King -- are the only locks for the season-opening rotation. Jhony Brito, Randy Vásquez, Matt Waldron, Pedro Avila and Drew Thorpe are vying for the final two spots.

That race will be an intriguing one, given the schedule. The Padres can travel to Seoul with only five extra players in addition to their 26-man roster, so they’ll likely pare down their starting pitchers before they depart on Wednesday. But they will almost certainly travel with an additional starter or two.

The race could continue beyond Wednesday’s Cactus League finale. Before the start of the regular season, the Padres have two exhibition games scheduled in Korea, then two more against the Mariners at Petco Park once they return home.

“We’re pretty clear on the first three [starters] -- it’s just a matter of order,” Shildt said. “The rotation could still be in somewhat flux [after leaving for Korea]. But I think we’ll have a pretty good handle on it.”

Waldron’s closing argument
In his final start of Cactus League play on Saturday afternoon, Waldron continued to make a strong case for one of those rotation spots. He allowed one run over 4 1/3 innings, lowering his ERA to 1.35 this spring.

Waldron wasn’t the sharpest version of himself in the Padres’ 1-1 tie against the White Sox at Peoria Stadium. He allowed seven hits. But he deftly navigated traffic to limit the damage.

“I’m very hard on myself -- I need to let that go,” Waldron said. “But there’s a lot of guys who want this [rotation] spot, too. So you’ve just got to keep doing as best you can. I feel like I’m doing what I can.”

Next up for Waldron? He’ll either be making the flight to Korea -- and potentially pitching in an exhibition game there -- or he’ll be remaining in Peoria, assigned to Minor League camp.

After the game, Shildt may have offered something of a hint, noting, “He’s done everything we’ve asked.”

Machado’s big day
Manny Machado turned in his best performance of the spring on Saturday afternoon, going 3-for-3 with an RBI double (and barely missing a long home run that hooked just foul down the left-field line).

“Really good day for him,” said Shildt, citing Machado’s usage of the entire field.

Machado, who is recovering from right elbow surgery in October, recently took a break from his throwing progression to focus more closely on the offensive side of his buildup. He’s still yet to appear in a game at third base this spring. Machado’s recent break from throwing makes it highly likely that he would open the season at DH (which was always the likeliest outcome).