Matt Waldron Demoted: Who Are the Padres' No. 5 Starter Candidates?

Sam Garcia | Aug 26, 2024

Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

The Padres pulled a surprising move on Thursday, optioning their most used starting pitcher to the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas. Right-handed pitcher Matt Waldron was sent back to the minor leagues for the first time since last season after a consecutive series of underperforming starts. 

Waldron was tied with right-hander Dylan Cease for a team-leading 26 starts. Waldron also had the second-highest number of innings pitched (142.2) behind Cease (148.1). But, he posted a 7.09 ERA while allowing 12 home runs in his last 10 starts, which led to the Padres' decision to option the 27-year-old.

Sending Waldron back to the minor leagues leaves the Padres rotation with just four starters, which will not be sufficient throughout the club’s upcoming schedule. The Padres have played 10 of the 18 back-to-back games on their schedule. Their next day off will not be until Sept. 3, meaning San Diego starters will have to pitch two full series before getting a chance to rest. 

Additionally, there are starters who have either passed their career-high innings or are approaching it. Michael King, the Padres' second-most used pitcher, has thrown 41.9 innings over his career-high (104.2) from last season. Cease is only 29.8 innings away from matching his career-high (184) from 2022.

Without Waldron, the Padres need to look to add a fifth starter soon to prevent injuries from overusing the current quartet of starters. 

One option was southpaw Omar Cruz, who would diversify the Padres rotation by adding a second left-hander to the mix. Across nine appearances and two starts with Triple-A El Paso, Cruz has logged a 2.43 ERA while throwing 38 strikeouts and 11 walks. Although Cruz has fewer appearances than the current Padres lineup, his ERA would have been the lowest of the group. 

However, he has no experience on the major league stage, which could be why the Padres ultimately decided to recall Randy Vásquez, who has more MLB experience than Cruz, on Monday.  

Vásquez has been in and out of Triple-A this season, getting optioned four times since joining the Padres in Dec. 2023. His most recent optioning happened on Aug. 9 in correspondence with the return of Joe Musgrove. But, in Vásquez's last eight starts before that decision, he accrued a 3.60 ERA. Overall, this season in MLB, he is 3-6 and posting a 4.63 ERA across 17 starts with the franchise. 

His role in the rotation will likely be to give the current four starters opportunities to rest as the Padres are expected to be a postseason team.