Padres to Finally Call Up Starting Pitcher to Start Monday's Game vs Phillies

The San Diego Padres will call up starting pitcher Matt Waldron to start Monday's game against the Philadelphia Phillies, per Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Waldron, who made a name for himself as MLB's only knuckleballer after his debut with the Friars in 2023, will return to the Padres for the first time in 2025 after a brief stint with Triple-A El Paso following his return from an oblique injury which he suffered in spring training.

Waldron returned to action June 1 and was optioned directly to the Chihuahuas. The right-hander has made five starts with El Paso, posting a 5.24 ERA through 22.1 innings. He has allowed 13 runs and struck out 22 batters.

Waldron was having a good run in Triple-A until his most recent start on June 20, where he allowed five runs in 2.2 innings. It raised his season ERA in Triple-A from 3.66 to 5.24.

The knuckleballer's longest stay at the major league level came in 2024, where he started 26 games for the Padres. He pitched 146.2 innings last season, posting a 4.91 ERA and striking out 133 batters.

He utilized his knuckleball 38% of the time, and it generated a swing and miss 27.5% of the time, more than any of his other pitches. It accounted for more than half of his strikeouts in 2024.

Waldron faced the Phillies once last season, pitching seven innings and allowing just one run while striking out six batters.

The Padres are hurting for depth in their starting rotation, and hope Waldron can plug up the obvious holes they have while they wait for Yu Darvish and Michael King to return from the injured list.

The Padres are seven games back from the division-leading Los Angeles Dodgers after Sunday's loss to the Cincinnati Reds, and now sit outside of the playoff picture after losing the final NL Wild Card spot to the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Friars will hope Waldron can produce a quality start against the Phillies to bring them back into Wild Card contention. The game begins Monday at 3:35 p.m. PT.

For more Padres news, head over to Padres on SI.