Joe

Wieland

Wieland signed minor league contract with Oakland back in January and hasn’t pitched in the majors since the 2016 campaign. The 33-year-old righty posted a bloated 8.16 ERA, 2.13 WHIP and 27/24 K/BB ratio across 32 innings (23 appearances, one start) this season for Triple-A Las Vegas.

Wieland inked a minor league contract last year with the Rays and made just eight appearances (three starts) in the minors before being released. The 32-year-old righty last appeared in the majors back in 2016 with the Mariners. He’s pitched overseas in both Japan and Korea, in addition to a stint with the Sugar Land Lightning Sloths of the independent Constellation Energy League.

Wieland signed a minor league contract with the Rays back in May and has been released after making just five appearances (three starts) for Triple-A Durham. The 32-year-old right-hander hasn’t appeared in the majors since the 2016 campaign.

Wieland last appeared in the majors back in 2016 with the Mariners. The 32-year-old righty didn’t pitch last year and made nine appearances back in 2020 with the Sugar Land Lightning Sloths of the independent Constellation Energy League. Seriously, that’s a real team. He’s a fascinating out of nowhere signing for the Rays, that’s for sure.

That’s more guaranteed money than he would have been able to fetch on MLB’s free agent market this winter. Wieland, a former top prospect who’s been involved in several different trades over the years, holds a 6.32 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, and 39/19 K/BB ratio in 52 2/3 career big league innings. The 28-year-old right-hander will probably get a chance to work as a starter in the KBO.

Wieland has now lost all three of his starts, but he’s pitched pretty well the last two times out, surrendering three runs over 12 innings while notching 11 strikeouts. He’ll take a 4.76 ERA but a 1.29 WHIP into next week’s start against the Brewers.

It confirms a report from Corey Brock of MLB.com from Tuesday that said Wieland is likely to make the start. “It’s not out of reason to think Joe will make that start,” manager Bud Black said. The Padres will be without Dustin Moseley indefinitely and Tim Stauffer for a few more weeks, so it’s possible Wieland could stick around for a while. He’s worth picking up in NL-only leagues and deeper mixed formats.

Wieland doesn’t have any structural damage in his elbow, but the Padres don’t want to take any chances with the young right-hander. He posted a 4.55 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 24/9 K/BB ratio across 27 2/3 innings covering five starts. It’s not clear how long he’ll be sidelined.

Wieland, a rookie, had lost his four career starts coming into this one. Today, he limited the Marlins to five hits while walking just one, leading to a confidence-building no-decision. But with Tim Stauffer (elbow) close to coming off the DL, Wieland could be running out of chances to book his first win.

The Padres are running out of starters with both Tim Stauffer (elbow) and Dustin Moseley (shoulder) on the disabled list. Wieland doesn’t have overwhelming stuff, but he posted a 1.80 ERA and 132/15 K/BB ratio over 129 2/3 innings in the minors last season and would be intriguing from a fantasy perspective, especially for home starts. Manager Bud Black will make a decision later this week.