San Diego Padres Sign Former A's Pitcher
The San Diego Padres have signed former A's reliever J.B. Wendelken, according to Robert Murray. This is reportedly a minor-league deal with an invite to spring training.
Wendelken, 31, is a right-hander that spent parts of five seasons with the Athletics, beginning in 2016. This run with the A's included a stretch from 2018-2020 where he got into 61 games, tossed 74 1/3 innings, and held a 2.30 ERA (3.03 FIP). He also held a 0.955 WHIP during this span, along with a 9.6 K/9 rate, and averaged 3.0 BB/9. He was a solid pitcher for the green and gold at the beginning of his career.
He struggled with the club in 2021, holding a 4.32 ERA across 25 innings, and he was designated for assignment that August to clear a roster spot to call up A.J. Puk. The Arizona Diamondbacks scooped him up off waivers, and he proceeded to finish out the year with the D-Backs, putting up a similar 4.34 ERA, but with a much lower WHIP (1.29 compared to 1.68).
Puk, funnily enough, was traded from the Miami Marlins to the Arizona Diamondbacks this past July.
Wendelken stuck with Arizona for the 2022 campaign as well, holding a 5.28 ERA across 29 innings with a 1.34 WHIP, and he was DFA'd by Arizona that July, and then outrighted to Triple-A Reno. He elected free agency that winter, and ultimately signed with the Yokohama BayStars in the Central League, and played in the Japan Series this past October.
He was pitching late in those games with the BayStars, and didn't allow a run to cross the plate in the final two rounds of the postseason, finishing with 3 2/3 innings, one hit, one walk, and a pair of strikeouts. He totaled a 1.67 ERA across 86 innings in NPB.
How Wendelken fits into the Padres bullpen mix will be interesting. Obviously he's not on the 40-man roster, so he won't necessarily be in the mix until there's an injury, but he does have a decent amount of MLB experience, accumulating 159 2/3 innings to go along with a 105 ERA+, meaning he was a little better than league average in that span. Those last two seasons in the big leagues (2021-22) he totaled a 98 and a 77 ERA+, so he was below league average in his most recent stints.
This will be a depth move for San Diego, and if they can work with him and figure out a pitch mix that they feel comfortable with, he could certainly see some time in the big leagues in 2025, be it when an injury arises, or another member of the current bullpen plan underperforms.
San Diego finished with a 3.78 bullpen ERA in 2024, ranking them No. 11 in all of baseball. That said, the relievers also held a 3.60 FIP, which ranked them No. 3 in MLB, so there could be some upside with the group they ran out there a year ago, if they repeat their performances.
Wendelken will be waiting in the wings if they don't, looking for his opportunity to pitch in the big leagues yet again.