While we all wait for the Philadelphia Phillies front office to make big league roster moves this offseason, one under-the-radar move went mostly undetected earlier this week: the signing of an unknown minor league pitcher.
Based on recent winters, we know that this front staff, led by president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and now new general manager Preston Mattingly, enjoys stockpiling pitching depth over the offseason.
Following a promising minor league season in 2024, the Phillies sign free agency pitcher Nicholas Padilla.
They did it again, signing right-handed reliever Nicholas Padilla to a minor league contract, according to Steve Potter of Philliesbaseballfan.com.
You are pardoned if you have never heard of Padilla. To far, the 27-year-old has thrown only 6 1/3 innings in the major leagues for the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox. His 5.68 ERA and terrible 2.21 WHIP aren’t particularly noteworthy.
Padilla did, however, have a promising season in the minors in 2024, so there was enough under the hood to persuade the Phillies to give him a chance.
He pitched 37 innings in the White Sox’s development system, including the Complex League (2 2/3), High-A (3 2/23) and Triple-A (30 2/3), for a 2.92 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, and 46 strikeouts.
The former 13th-round choice of the Tampa Bay Rays does not have what is called great velocity these days, but he knows how to use his stuff to generate swings and misses. He throws a 92 mph cutter and 94 mph sinker, as well as a low-80s sweeper and curveball.
Despite an uninspiring arsenal and only throwing 100 pitches in the majors in 2023 while being shuttled between Triple-A and the majors, Padilla had a 34.1 percent whiff rate, which would place him in the league’s elite echelon if he qualified — something he was far from accomplishing. In his limited sample of 4 2/3 innings, he struck out six and walked one.
In addition, he threw for Puerto Rico in three games during the 2023 World Baseball Classic. He won and retained a clean slate, allowing only two hits in 2 1/3 innings of relief.
Padilla’s role in the Phillies’ 2025 ambitions remains to be seen. Being a depth reliever in Triple-A might land him a job when the inevitable happens and the big league club requires arms. He has one MiLB option left, so he may make several journeys between Lehigh Valley and Philadelphia if his performance and the team’s requirements require it.
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