The Padres announced that right-hander Jeremiah Estrada has been reinstated from the 15-day injured list. Fellow righty Matt Waldron has been designated for assignment as the corresponding move.
Waldron, 29, once seemed like a potentially serviceable rotation member for the Padres. Over the 2023 and 2024 seasons, he tossed 188 innings with a decent 4.79 earned run average. His 20.6% strikeout rate was subpar but his 6.5% walk rate was quite good and he limited hard contact, as one might expect from a knuckleballer.
But things have swiftly gone downhill since then. He spent most of 2025 in the minors, only making one big league appearance. His Triple-A work was not pretty, as he allowed a 6.67 ERA over 18 starts. He exhausted his final option season, putting him out of options and on the roster bubble coming into 2026.
He underwent hemorrhoid surgery in February, which led to a season-opening stint on the IL. He came off the IL in mid-April but his first three starts were poor, which got him bumped to a long relief role. He returned to the IL in mid-May with a right brachialis muscle injury. He returned from that stint earlier this month and has been back in the bullpen. On the whole, this year’s results have not been good. He has thrown 32 2/3 innings with a 7.16 ERA.
That probably overstates how bad he has actually pitched. His 19% strikeout rate is subpar but his 5.4% walk rate is tiny and his 44.8% ground ball rate is better than average. His .353 batting average on balls in play and 62.5% strand rate are both to the unlucky side. ERA estimators like his 5.10 FIP and 4.01 SIERA paint a slightly better picture.
Regardless of the under-the-hood numbers, the Padres are moving on. They may be pursuing starting pitching upgrades in the coming days and Waldron was already squeezed out of the rotation. Waldron heads into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Friars could take as long as five days to see if there’s any trade interest. Coincidentally, five days from now is the August 3 trade deadline. His recent numbers aren’t too inspiring but perhaps some club is intrigued by the potential of the knuckleball.
If Waldron lands somewhere else, he will need an active roster spot due to his out-of-options status, but he is theoretically controllable for four seasons beyond this one and hasn’t yet qualified for arbitration. If he were to clear waivers, he would stick with the Padres as non-roster depth. Since he has less than three years of service time and hasn’t been previously outrighted in his career, he would not have the right to elect free agency.
Photo courtesy of William Liang, Imagn Images
