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Rehabs in Lake Elsinore 'work out' better for players, Padres

Jake Peavy, who last pitched for the Lake Elsinore Storm in 2001, could be returning to the Storm on a rehabilitation assignment later this year.

Peavy has been with the San Diego Padres since June 2002, although he spent part of 2004 on the disabled list and had a rehabilitation assignment in Mobile. His next trip to Lake Elsinore was last month, when the Storm retired Peavy’s number in honor of the pitcher’s 2007 Cy Young Award.

On May 19 the Padres placed Peavy on the 15-day disabled list after a medical examination revealed swelling and strained muscles in his right elbow. It is unknown at this time whether Peavy will follow his time on the disabled list with a rehabilitation assignment.

The decision whether or not to include a rehabilitation stint will be partially based on how critically the Padres need Peavy, and Padres manager Bud Black will have some input in the decision.

“I’ll be involved in that process,” Black said.

A shorter time on the disabled list may mean a direct return to San Diego while an extended period might result in a rehabilitation assignment.

“Depends on how long he’s out,” Black said.

The purpose of the disabled list is to exempt an injured player from roster limits. An injured player who is not placed on the disabled list may return upon the determination of his recovery, but while he is not playing he still comprises part of the 25-man active roster.

A player placed on the 15-day disabled list can be replaced on the 25-man roster, and the 60-day disabled list exempts a player from the 40-man roster and allows the addition of another player to that roster without dropping a player from that roster and exposing him to waiver claims.

The 15-day and 60-day periods are minimums, although if a player had not appeared prior to being placed on the disabled list he can be placed on the list retroactively.

In Peavy’s case he was placed on the disabled list retroactive to May 15 since he last pitched May 14.

A player can stay on the disabled list for longer than the minimum period, and in recent decades the rehabilitation assignment option allows him to remain exempt from the major league active roster while participating against lower-level competition as he returns to form.

While most Padres rehabilitation assignments are in Lake Elsinore, Peavy is from Mobile so his 2004 appearance there allowed him to pitch in his hometown. The Padres’ Class AA farm team is now in San Antonio, so Lake Elsinore could be the site of a rehabilitation stint for Peavy this year.

Black was the pitching coach for the California Angels for eight years prior to becoming the Padres’ manager.

Lake Elsinore was affiliated with the Angels for Black’s first two years as the big league team’s pitching coach, and after the Storm and the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes exchanged affiliations the Angels’ California League team was in Rancho Cucamonga.

Black has discovered the advantage of rehabilitation assignments so close to the major league stadium.

“It’s great. A lot of times we’ll have the players get a lot of the rehab work here with us,” Black said.

The rehabilitation stints in Lake Elsinore are also a benefit to players who live locally. “It’s convenient for them to drive up to Lake Elsinore and then drive back to their home,” Black said.

Since starting pitchers appear in a rotation, off-days are spent with the Padres rather than with the Storm. “They can come back here and get their work in with the big club,” Black said.

The Padres’ organization also has a shorter distance to review the on-diamond performances of the rehabilitating players. “It’s a big plus,” Black said. “It’s much more convenient.”

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