Morrow heads to DL with shoulder inflammation

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Padres placed starting pitcher Brandon Morrow on the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday with inflammation of his right shoulder, though Morrow and the team both felt this could actually be helpful for him in the future.

Come again?

Morrow, the Padres' fifth starter, said the disabled list is "more of a preventative thing than anything else," and that he doesn't expect to miss more starts after giving his shoulder time to rest.

"When you say 'injury,' I've been injured, and I wouldn't say this is an injury," he said. "It's missing two starts now to save us from five or six starts in the future. I think I could've made my start, but it's just a matter of getting ahead of the soreness."

To replace Morrow on the roster, the Padres recalled left-handed reliever Frank Garces from Triple-A El Paso, where he had a 1.69 ERA in 5 1/3 innings. Garces made the Padres' Opening Day 25-man roster, and posted a 1.59 ERA in 5 2/3 innings.

Odrisamer Despaigne will take Morrow's turn in the rotation on Thursday when the team opens a four-game series in Arizona against the D-backs. It's the second time Despaigne has stepped into the team's starting rotation for an injured pitcher. He did so for Ian Kennedy last month.

"We have all the confidence in Odrisamer," said Padres manager Bud Black. "He has pitched very well for us."

So has Morrow, who signed a one-year deal with the team in December and then had to win the No. 5 job in the rotation in Spring Training. He's 2-0 with a 2.73 ERA in five starts.

"That's the tough part of it," Morrow said. "When you're throwing the ball well, you don't want to have to sit on the sidelines for anything. I was definitely happy with the way I was throwing the ball and competing."

So were the Padres, who hope to get Morrow back in the rotation sooner than later. But the DL move could be a blessing in disguise, as the Padres were going to have to monitor Morrow's innings at any rate. He has nearly thrown as many innings this season (33) as he did in all of 2014 (33 1/3). He was also limited to 54 innings in '13.

"I think this is just more of being cautious about the workload that I've had the last two years and the workload I'm on pace for right now if I continue to go out and throw six, seven innings every time out," Morrow said. "I think the concern is that the soreness now, with the workloads in the past, the safest route is to take a couple off and pick up where I left off next homestand."

The DL move made perfect sense to Black as well.

"I think it is common sense that his shoulder is telling him something, and we're acting on it right away," Black said. "He's been a little bit sore, the tests he's gone through has shown inflammation, and it's been building a little bit in the last couple starts.

"We felt as though this was probably heading the wrong direction. Instead of trying to push through it in hopes he turns the corner, let's take a step back here to take some steps forward."