Matt Waldron, the San Diego Padres’ right-hander, will miss the start of the season after suffering a left oblique strain while warming up in the bullpen on Friday night. Manager Mike Shildt acknowledged the injury, saying Waldron’s rehabilitation period is unknown but he will miss Opening Day. “Checked in on Matt, he slept okay, looks like he can still feel it,” replied Shildt. “The 24-48 hours following the incident will be the most significant, so we are still in that window. We are hopeful that [he] will recover quickly. It will be some time before the season begins.”
Waldron was competing for the No. 5 slot in the Padres’ starting rotation and was scheduled to pitch multiple innings against the Rangers in relief of starter Nick Pivetta. However, he had soreness in his side all day, which exacerbated as he warmed up. When the discomfort worsened, he and the team’s trainers felt it was better to avoid additional injury.
“When I started to warm up, and I felt it act up even more, I’m like: ‘If this is getting worse, as bad as I want to pitch and compete for this spot, I just can’t,'” said Waldron.
The final rotation position is now contested by three pitchers: Kyle Hart, Stephen Kolek, and Randy Vásquez. Kolek and Vásquez have impressed in recent appearances, with Vásquez pitching five scoreless innings in a Triple-A game.
“Kolek made his case the other day,” Shildt added. “Hart will continue to get his opportunity. We’re not very familiar with him, but we enjoy what we’ve seen. Unfortunately, he’s been unwell, which has slowed his progress. In the Triple-A game yesterday, Vásquez played quite well in the backfield. Five scoreless, everything looked good, velo was in a good spot.”
Waldron had entered camp as a frontrunner for the position, especially after making 20 starts last season and having a 4.79 ERA in 188 MLB innings. He had been honing his characteristic knuckleball, upping its usage over last year’s 38% rate.
With Dylan Cease, Michael King, Yu Darvish, and Nick Pivetta locked into the first four rotation places, the Padres will turn to one of the remaining contenders to step up in Waldron’s absence.
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