Despite early struggles and injuries, the San Diego Padres added some much-needed pitching depth with a veteran joining the team.
The San Diego Padres' recent surge has them right behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West.
Even more impressive is the fact that Fernando Tatis Jr. has yet to hit a home run and Manny Machado has also gotten off to a sluggish start at the plate. Yet, somehow, San Diego continues to stack victories in the win column.
Joe Musgrove has yet to pitch, and Opening Day starter Nick Pivetta is out for the foreseeable future due to an injury.
There is no question that San Diego needed to add pitching, and that happened Wednesday morning. The Padres signed right-hander Lucas Giolito to a one-year deal, the team announced.
Giolito had also drawn interest from the Chicago Cubs, but the Padres won the battle and now add some much-needed help to the starting rotation.
Red Sox reporter Chris Cotillo mentioned there was a "legit" possibility of a deal getting done on Wednesday morning, and an hour later, the Padres made it official.
It is a one-year deal with a mutual option for 2027 for Giolito.
Giolito, who turns 32 years old in July, began his MLB run with the Washington Nationals. He then spent seven seasons with the Chicago White Sox before spending the 2023 season between the Los Angeles Angels and the Cleveland Guardians.
After not pitching in 2024, Giolito joined the Red Sox in 2025. He went 10-4 with a 3.41 ERA in 26 starts, showing he still has potential as a rotation piece for an MLB team.
Giolito was named an All-Star for the White Sox in 2019.
What Does San Diego's Rotation Look Like?
After Pivetta landed on the IL, knuckleballer Matt Waldron, who suffered a spring training injury, was promoted to replace him.
Now, the Padres' rotation should look something like this, in no particular order:
- Randy Vasquez
- Michael King
- Walker Buehler
- German Marquez
- Lucas Giolito
Buehler, who has had back-to-back decent outings, takes the mound on Wednesday against the Colorado Rockies.
Waldron, who went 3.2 innings while giving up six runs in his first start, toes the rubber on Thursday.
The Padres are off Friday, for some reason, and Marquez and King are slated to start the two-game road series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
For now, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports that Giolito will head to Single-A Lake Elsinore, but he should be joining the big-league club somewhat soon.
After some pitching injuries, this is a big move for San Diego.