SAN DIEGO -- Chris Paddack is one of the game's most exciting rookies. Naturally there's interest surrounding any limits the Padres might place on his workload this season.

But Paddack isn't the only frontline starter in San Diego with restrictions. Matt Strahm -- off to an impressive start with a 3.07 ERA -- has been handled similarly. As with Paddack, it remains unclear how the Padres might deploy him later this season.

Both pitchers returned from surgery in 2018, with an obvious difference: Paddack missed a season and a half because of a torn UCL in his elbow. Strahm tore his patellar tendon in his left knee. Those are decidedly different injuries.

Still, both had their workloads strictly monitored last year -- Paddack with 90 innings in the Minors and Strahm in a bullpen role in San Diego.

"We're going to take care of him all season long, like we do Chris," said Padres manager Andy Green. "We're going to still try to limit the number of pitches he throws on a daily basis and still try and have an opportunity to win every game."

Strahm has eclipsed the 90-pitch mark just once this season -- when Brandon Nimmo's at-bat stretched into a 12-pitch battle to end his start last week. The Padres' decision to put five days between starts is as much for Strahm’s benefit as Paddack's. They're clearly taking the long view.

In the moment, that doesn't always sit well. In the Dodger Stadium dugout, Strahm made a forceful case to Green to pitch the sixth inning Wednesday night. He'd been excellent through five, and was sitting at 88 pitches.

"I want that attitude out of him," Green said. "We all want that attitude out of him. ... We see a guy that can be a huge part of our rotation going forward. We're going to take care of him the rest of this year, and we're going make sure we position him for success over the next number of years."

"We're all competitors," Strahm said. "We want to be pitching. I know we've got a great bullpen, but the more we can keep them well rested, the better chance we have to win. … But that's why we have managers and a front office -- to manage us and make sure we're healthy for a long time."

Even if he doesn't always like it, Strahm understands the plan. He also hopes his performance might make the club reconsider its late-season plans.

“All I can do is keep working, keep maintaining all this strength I built up in the offseason,” said Strahm, who bulked up this winter for a transition to the rotation. "Hopefully when the time comes, when they're thinking about it, I've put another thought in the back of their head that maybe I have more."

The Padres have been especially careful to avoid any talk of innings limits or late-season shutdowns. As things stand, Strahm is on pace for around 160 innings.

Including his early-season rehab stint, Strahm tallied 75 2/3 frames last year. Before his injury, he'd reached 124 1/3 innings in the Royals organization in 2016.

There's a possibility the team might handle Strahm and Paddack differently in the second half. Their injuries were different, their surgeries were different and their histories are different. But the Padres haven't given any indication. Nor will they.

"I don't really have the ability to answer that right now," Green said. "That's going to be predicated on every start ... where their health is, how they feel. That's trying to answer a question right now that's really going to be shaped by their performance over the next couple months."

So far, so good.

Injury updates

• Rookie shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. is expected to miss at least one more week, Green said. The 20-year-old has yet to resume running at full strength as he recovers from a left hamstring strain he sustained late last month in Washington.

"It's probably still a little bit of a stretch," Green said of a potential Tatis return this homestand. "He's still not quite running at 100 percent yet, and he's got to clear that hurdle before we even talk about what day he's back. We've said it from the beginning: It's his timetable."

• Catcher Francisco Mejía will likely require a rehab stint when he's ready to return from the left knee strain that landed him on the injured list last weekend. Mejia took batting practice in Los Angeles this week, and he returned to catching activities Thursday.

For Mejia -- who is hitting just .167/.207/.259 this season in sporadic playing time -- a rehab stint would serve as a chance to regain his timing offensively.

• Righty reliever Trey Wingenter threw a bullpen session on Thursday afternoon at Petco Park, his second in three days. If Wingenter (right shoulder inflammation) responds well on Friday, he could be activated this weekend.