Michael Wacha is headed to San Diego.
The veteran right-hander signed a deal with the San Diego Padres on Tuesday morning.
Their rotation now features Wacha, Joe Musgrove, Yu Darvish, and Blake Snell, with Nick Martinez and Seth Lugo potentially battling it out for the fifth starter spot.
The 31-year-old will reunite with a few old friends, joining his former St. Louis Cardinals teammate Matt Carpenter and his former manager in third base coach Mike Shildt.
But according to Wacha, there was a certain draw to the Padres.
Today, the right-hander arrived at the team’s spring training facility and revealed why he chose the Padres over other teams.
Michael Wacha on the factors that went into signing with the Padres:
“I want to win.” pic.twitter.com/rpUfX32JGq
— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) February 16, 2023
Wacha talked about how the fit in San Diego was seamless for him.
He discussed his goals for the 2023 season and beyond and how they aligned with the goals of the Padres.
Wacha says he wants to win and have an opportunity to bring a championship back to San Diego, as those are the expectations for the Padres heading into the season.
San Diego won 89 games and earned the second Wild Card in the NL in 2022.
They eliminated two heavyweights in the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers to reach the NLCS.
Wacha is also no stranger to winning, having been with the Cardinals for four postseason runs.
He helped guide St. Louis to the World Series in 2013 and even earned NLCS MVP honors after two scoreless starts against the Dodgers, games in which he also managed to out-duel Clayton Kershaw, who won the Cy Young that year.
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