Matt

Waldron

Waldron pitched in a bulk relief role on Tuesday and then was used out of the bullpen once again on Thursday by the Padres. It’s unclear exactly when the injury occurred or the severity of it. Alek Jacob was recalled from Triple-A El Paso to take his spot in the Padres’ bullpen.

Waldron was supposed to go long as a bulk guy tonight, but after entering to begin the second, he couldn’t make it out of the fourth. He’s probably Triple-A bound now with his ERA up to 9.28. Lucas Giolito can come up and replace him in the rotation.

Waldron worked behind an opener today, which proved important since the Padres only took the lead for good in the seventh. If Waldron had come out after five, he would have missed out on his first win of the season. He’s still probably in line for a demotion now, as the Padres are off Monday and could have Lucas Giolito join the rotation afterwards.

Randy Vasquez, who had been scheduled to start on Sunday, will get pushed back to Monday. That also means that Matt Waldron will get bumped from the Padres’ rotation entirely. Canning, 29, has been working his way back from last year’s Achilles injury. He posted a 3.60 ERA, 1.67 WHIP and an 18/12 K/BB ratio over 15 innings in five minor league rehab starts at Triple-A El Paso.

The first run came in the second on a rally that started because Jackson Merrill got worried about the wall in center and misplayed Michael Conforto’s fly into a double. The other two came in the fourth, after Matt Shaw dropped down a bunt single with two outs and Pete Crow-Armstrong homered. Waldron struck out just one today. He might start against the Giants next week, but it won’t be long before he’s replaced in the San Diego rotation by Griffin Canning or Lucas Giolito.

The thin air of Colorado did Waldron’s knuckler no good today, so he threw the pitch just half as often as he did last time out. He has a 12.46 ERA after two starts, which might lead to a Triple-A demotion. If not, he’ll face the Cubs on Wednesday.

This had been rumored for a few days and is now official. Giolito claims that he is built up to 75 pitches, but he also ended last season on the injured list with flexor irritation, so we’ll need to see him throw on the mound before we get a true sense of how he looks. The Padres optioned him to High-A Lake Elsinore, but Giolito needs to be on the MLB roster in 25 days, which would be May 17th. He would figure to take Matt Waldron’s spot in the rotation by that time.

Waldron’s velocity was up this spring before his IL stint, and he held on to those gains tonight, with his fastball up about two mph and his knuckleball up three mph from where he was in 2024 before missing almost all of last season. That still doesn’t make him a great bet for fantasy purposes, but he has more of a chance against major league hitters than he used to. Of course, it still didn’t work out tonight, and we certainly wouldn’t trust him in Coors against the Rockies next week.

The 29-year-old knuckleballer will rejoin the Padres to start on Friday night against the Angels. Waldron made three starts at Triple-A El Paso on his minor league rehab assignment, hurling 12 scoreless innings with a 0.67 WHIP and a 12/1 K/BB ratio. He’s worth a look as a streaming option in deeper mixed leagues for Friday’s matchup against the Halos.

No word yet on how much time Pivetta will miss. The 33-year-old veteran has presumably undergone an MRI to determine the severity of the issue and there should be a clearer timetable at some point this week. He was lifted from Sunday’s start against the Rockies after firing three shutout frames. It’ll be Matt Waldron coming up to take his spot in San Diego’s rotation.