CHICAGO -- Could the Padres realistically have asked for anything more from Michael Wacha this season?

Wacha arrived in camp in mid-February, fresh off signing a creative contract featuring a team option, multiple player options and some performance bonuses. The Padres needed help at the back end of their rotation. Wacha was one of the few remaining starters available. The two parties found a way to make it happen.

On Saturday night, in a 6-1 San Diego victory over the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field, Wacha’s first season as a Padre came to an end. Might it be his only season?

“I honestly have no idea what to expect,” Wacha said. “... There’s definitely going to be some decisions to be made on both sides. When the time comes, we’ll be ready.”

The short version of Wacha’s contract situation is this: The Padres must first decide whether they’ll pick up his two-year, $32 million team option. If they don’t, Wacha could exercise a player option for $6.5 million.

The latter seems unlikely. But Wacha clearly has a fondness for pitching in San Diego. If the Padres pick up his option, that’s good with him. If not? Well, he’d prefer to avoid thinking about the alternative.

“These past three weeks, you kind of see the way this team was put together, how explosive the offense can be, how dominant the pitching staff can be,” Wacha said. “The wins started racking up here. I was talking with some of the guys: I don’t want to face this lineup next year. It’s an absolutely studly lineup.”

That lineup staked Wacha to his usual massive lead on Saturday night. (Seriously, it feels like the Padres put up crooked numbers early every time he pitches.) Again, Wacha did his part to protect that lead. He pitched seven scoreless frames as the Padres crept above .500 for the first time since May 10.

“Tremendous pickup,” Padres manager Bob Melvin said of Wacha. “Everything he brings to the table from his competitiveness to his clubhouse presence -- everything. This is a really good pitcher and a sensational year for him.”

When the Padres signed Wacha, they merely hoped he’d solidify what was an already deep starting rotation. They knew he had dealt with shoulder trouble in the past, and they knew it might flare up again this year. But despite a stint on the injured list that cost him the month of July and some of August, Wacha made 24 starts this season, posting a 3.22 ERA.

“I felt like whenever I was out there, I was one of the best guys in the league out there,” Wacha said.

He’s not wrong -- and that sounds like the type of pitcher the Padres would love to have in their 2024 rotation. It’s no secret where this team’s priorities lie entering the winter. The Padres need pitching.

Blake Snell and Josh Hader are both set to hit the free-agent market. Seth Lugo seems likely to decline his player option and join them. Among the returning pitchers, there are question marks galore. Yu Darvish suffered a stress reaction in his elbow and is shut down from throwing. Joe Musgrove’s season ended early because of right shoulder capsule inflammation.

The Padres rotation was a massive strength in 2023. Its collective 3.71 ERA is the best mark in the Majors. With Snell and Lugo potentially set to depart and question marks surrounding the health of Musgrove and Darvish, there’s no guarantee it will be that good again in ‘24.

Which brings us back to Wacha. Make no mistake, there’s risk in picking up his team option. He’s 32 with a recent history of shoulder trouble. But there might be even more risk in letting him walk and entering the offseason with an ultra-thin rotation and a relatively weak crop of free-agent arms.

In any case, that’s the decision the Padres must weigh over the next month or so.

It’s one of many forthcoming decisions, to be sure. But an important one, nonetheless.