The San Diego Padres sustained a blow to their pitching rotation when former Cy Young award winner Blake Snell was scratched from his start due to left adductor tightness. With a trip to the injured list possible, the Padres could be in a position where they are in need of starting pitching early on in the season. As such, Padres reporter AJ Cassavell of MLB.com has the latest on a possible MacKenzie Gore move that could be made by the club following the Snell injury.

Per Cassavell, top pitching prospect MacKenzie Gore has a locker in the Padres' clubhouse. It doesn't necessarily mean that Gore will definitely be taking Snell's place in the rotation in the event of an injured list stint, though there is a good chance of that happening, given the top prospect's strong spring.

Gore flashed some of his immense strikeout potential this spring, posting a 16:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 12 innings pitched. The southpaw also had an excellent first outing at the Triple-A level.

The fourth-ranked prospect in the Padres' system, Gore would be the most logical replacement for Snell if he is forced to miss some time.

While nothing is official yet, all signs are pointing to the Padres putting Snell on the injured list and calling up Gore.