The San Diego Padres have competition at the back of their rotation, and Matt Waldron didn't help himself last night.
The San Diego Padres have a logjam at the back of their rotation, with multiple pitchers competing for a couple of spots. Matt Waldron blew up in the second inning last night against the Milwaukee Brewers after the Padres slotted him in behind opener Bradgley Rodriguez, but Waldron couldn’t hold up his end as he gave up six runs on just eight innings just 2-2/3 innings.
Waldron may have made himself the odd man out in the process. Much of the damage was self-inflicted, according to AJ Cassavell of MLB.com, as Waldron put himself in bad counts throughout and misread a bunt by David Hamilton that led to him unraveling.
“I want it so bad that it just is very frustrating,” Waldron said. “I thought our offense played well enough to win a ballgame tonight. I thought our defense played well. I thought I pitched poorly.”
No one’s quite sure what happens now. Lucas Giolito pitched six innings of one-run ball for Double-A San Antonio on Sunday, so he’s either ready or very close, and Cassavell noted that he could join the Padres rotation as soon as this weekend.
Waldron has shown flashes and had some good games, but he’s also out of minor league options, which puts the Padres in a bind. They could make him their long man for now, but there’s a chance his roster status could also be in jeopardy.
“It doesn’t change what I do,” Waldron said. “I work as hard as I can every day and prepare as well as I can.”
Waldron understands the situation, and he knows there’s nothing he can do about it. He’s pitching for a team that’s in contention and battling the Los Angeles Dodgers, so there isn’t a lot of room on the roster to keep someone who’s struggling like Waldron is right now.
“It’s safe to say my ERA and my numbers aren’t too attractive right now,” he said. “And I have no options. So, I mean, yeah, that’s where I’ll leave it.”
The Padres didn’t sign Giolito to do a longer rehab stint, so if he’s ready, he’s coming. A couple of other pitchers have had poor outings recently, so in some ways this is a day-to-day situation. It’s also complicated by the lack of offensive production, which makes the margin for error thin, to say the least.
The best at this point is that Waldron sticks around, but it’s not a lock. Waldron could also be a trade candidate if GM A.J. Preller can find a trade partner with some offense to offer, but that feels unlikely right now.