Lucas Giolito might have made his last minor league start on Sunday.
It was his best yet.
The 31-year-old veteran threw an efficient 74 pitches over six innings of one-run ball for Double-A San Antonio. He struck out three, threw 52 pitches for strikes and allowed one run on three hits without a free pass.
The start was the fourth in the minors for Giolito, who has to be added to the big-league roster by May 16 per the stipulations in the big-league deal he signed last month.
Giolito could fold into the rotation as soon as this weekend in Seattle if the Padres determine he does not need another minor league start.
Giolito started twice at low Single-A Lake Elsinore (7 IP, 5 ER) before jumping to the Double-A Texas League. He threw 78 pitches over four innings on Tuesday (5 R, 3 ER) and got up and down six times for the first time on Sunday against visiting Midland.
The Padres pushed right-hander Germán Márquez to the 15-day injured list with nerve inflammation when Griffin Canning rejoined the rotation last weekend.
A roster crunch remains when Giolito is ready to be activated as right-hander Matt Waldron is out of options.
Waldron is listed as the starting pitcher on Tuesday in Milwaukee, followed by Michael King on Wednesday and Canning on Thursday. The rotation beyond that is TBD as the Padres determine the next step for Giolito, as well as how to manage the active roster.