CINCINNATI -- The Padres starting rotation, which has the fifth-worst ERA in the National League, might be getting some much-needed help in the near future.
Andrew Cashner, who left his start on June 10 vs. the Rockies after six pitches with a strained neck, threw a bullpen session on Friday, tossing 25 pitches before taking a break and throwing another unspecified number of pitches.
The plan for Cashner is to have him throw a single rehab outing at Single-A Lake Elsinore on June 28 and have him rejoin the Padres at the beginning of July.
"It depends on how it goes, how he feels," Padres manager Andy Green said. "Assuming he throws like we expect him to, it's just go down there, throw maybe 50 pitches and then show up back with us."
Not too far behind Cashner is Opening Day starter Tyson Ross, who threw a bullpen session on Thursday, mixing in sliders for the first time since going on the disabled list (shoulder) after his lone start of the season on April 4.
"Tyson felt really good yesterday, like everybody was kind of raving about the way he felt," Green said. "Snapped off some sliders for the first time. No issues at all. Progressing nicely."
Ross is scheduled to throw one more bullpen session on Sunday in Cincinnati and then throw some live batting practice when the team returns to San Diego.
Worth noting:
• After originally being optimistic that outfielder Jon Jay might be able to play "one or two" games against the Reds, Green said that is becoming less likely.
Jay came into the clubhouse on Friday with a brace on his left wrist and said he feels "about the same." The problem for Jay is there's still swelling, which limits his range of motion and is leading to soreness and discomfort. While X-rays came back negative, Jay is scheduled to see a team doctor during the off-day on Monday.
"There's always the retroactive DL. It depends on how well he progresses in the next number of days." Green said. "We're going back, at least we're going to ride him through this road trip, get back home. … I'd assume after Monday, after seeing the doctor, one of our doctors, that we'd have a better understanding of what we need to do with him."
• Fernando Rodney will remain one out short of the Padres' consecutive scoreless innings record. He and his agent appealed a bounce off the first-base bag that would have assessed Wil Myers an error and given Rodney a franchise-record 26 2/3 innings without an earned run.
Green said Friday that the appeal was denied, which did not surprise him.