The Padres are placing right-hander Matt Waldron on the 15-day injured list, per a team announcement. Righty Alek Jacob is being recalled from Triple-A in a corresponding move.
Some kind of move involving Waldron has seemed likely for a while now. The Padres have been doing a bit of musical chairs in their rotation this year, working around various injuries. Waldron himself began the season on the injured list while recovering from a hemorrhoid procedure. By the time he was ready to come off the IL in mid-April, the Friars had lost Nick Pivetta to the IL, where he joined Joe Musgrove and Griffin Canning.
Shortly after Pivetta’s injury, the Padres signed Lucas Giolito. He agreed to be optioned to the minors for a few tune-up starts. At that time, the San Diego rotation consisted of Waldron, Michael King, Randy Vásquez, Walker Buehler and Germán Márquez. Canning came off the IL in early May, but then Márquez went on the shelf at the same time.
It was reported earlier this week that Giolito would be coming up to the big leagues this weekend, meaning someone would have to give way. Waldron seemed like the logical guy to bump out, since he posted a 9.28 earned run average through his first five appearances this year. The fact that he pitched two mop-up innings out of the bullpen yesterday only further signaled that he had been bumped out of the rotation.
Waldron’s placement on the injured list spares him from being designated for assignment for the moment. That said, Waldron himself acknowledged his performance and out-of-options status earlier this week. “Safe to say my ERA and my numbers aren’t too attractive right now,” he said a few days ago. “And I have no options, so I mean, yeah, that’s where I’ll leave it. I’m smart enough (to know).” The Friars kept him in the rotation for about a month, but as mentioned, Waldron pitched a couple of relief innings yesterday. With Giolito set to be activated soon, it’s entirely possible that Waldron’s IL placement has only stalled the inevitable, and he might still be off the roster in some form when he returns from the IL.
More to come.
