Padres Sign Former NL West Rival Pitcher in Free Agency

Wendelken is making his return to affiliated baseball after spending two seasons in Japan. The 31-year-old enjoyed impressive success with the Yokohama DeNa BayStars, posting a 1.67 ERA over 86 innings in Nippon Professional Baseball.

The right-hander recorded a 22.2 percent strikeout rate and an 8.8 percent walk rate during his time in Japan.

Before heading to Japan, Wendelken had a six-season MLB career, most of which was spent with the Oakland Athletics. During his five years in Oakland, he posted a solid 3.62 ERA.

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During his time with the A's, Wendelken had a standout stretch from 2018 to 2020, appearing in 61 games and throwing 74.1 innings while posting a 2.30 ERA (3.03 FIP). He also recorded a 0.955 WHIP, a 9.6 K/9 rate, and averaged 3.0 BB/9.

His five years in Oakland marked a strong start to his career, establishing him as a reliable arm in their bullpen.

However, his performance took a downturn after joining the Diamondbacks via waiver claim in August 2021.

In Arizona, Wendelken struggled, allowing nearly five earned runs per nine innings over 47.2 innings. The Diamondbacks eventually outrighted him off their 40-man roster midway through the 2022 season.

How Wendelken fits into the Padres' bullpen is unclear. He's currently not on the 40-man roster, so he won't be part of the mix unless there's an injury.

However, with 159.2 innings of MLB experience and a 105 ERA+ over his career, he has shown he can be slightly above league average. His last two seasons in the majors (2021-22) were more challenging, posting ERA+ figures of 98 and 77, indicating below-average performance.

The Padres finished the 2024 season with a 3.78 bullpen ERA, ranking 11th in the league. However, their 3.60 FIP was even more impressive, placing them third in MLB. This suggests that there could be potential for improvement with the same group of relievers, assuming they can replicate their strong performances from last year.

This move by the Padres is primarily for depth, but if they can refine his pitch mix and help him regain form, Wendelken could find himself contributing to the big league roster in 2025, whether due to injury or underperformance from another bullpen arm.

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