The San Diego Padres not only lost Juan Soto and Josh Hader this offseason.
Three-fifths of their 2023 rotation is gone, too: Blake Snell, Seth Lugo, and Michael Wacha, and that doesn’t include top swingman Nick Martinez.
As you can see, there was a lot of turnover, particularly on the pitching staff.
At the moment, the Padres will have the two remaining members of their 2023 rotation, Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove, leading the staff.
Then, two pitchers that came over in the Soto deal, Michael King and Jhony Brito, will follow them.
MLB insider Jon Morosi reported the favorite for the fifth and last spot in the rotation.
“RHP Matt Waldron, 27, has the inside track on a @Padres rotation spot. Waldron, the player to be named later in the 2020 Mike Clevinger/Greg Allen trade, has been one of the top starters in @MLB this spring, with a 0.975 WHIP over 13-1/3 IP,” he tweeted.
RHP Matt Waldron, 27, has the inside track on a @Padres rotation spot.
Waldron, the player to be named later in the 2020 Mike Clevinger/Greg Allen trade, has been one of the top starters in @MLB this spring, with a 0.975 WHIP over 13-1/3 IP.@MLBNetwork @HuskerBaseball
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) March 13, 2024
Waldron has a 1.35 spring ERA in those 13.1 innings, and while his ceiling is not particularly high, he has enough talent to be a fine fifth starter for the Padres.
His 2023 was rough, though, so one has to think he made some adjustments in the offseason.
Last year, in 92.1 Triple-A innings, he had a 7.31 ERA.
He did strike out 99 batters, which paved the way for some optimism.
Then, in 41.1 frames in the majors, he had a much more decent 4.35 ERA.
The upper-minors and his brief MLB time evidenced some issues with the long ball, but as long as he is not expected to be an ace, Waldron has the potential to be a fine backend option for the rotation.
NEXT: Yu Darvish Shares His Excitement For Special Opening Day Start