Padres sign pitcher with thoughts of how to make him a weapon again

Triston McKenzie had some of his best days with the Cleveland Guardians when Ruben Niebla was the franchise's minor league pitching coordinator and Major League assistant pitching coach. Now the duo could reunite with the San Diego Padres with the potential of restoring McKenzie to elite form.

The Padres reportedly signed McKenzie to a minor league deal with a spring training invite on Thursday. The 28-year-old right-hander has a career 4.07 ERA in 442.0 innings, with 80 of his 88 appearances in six seasons in Cleveland coming as a starter. 

McKenzie's signing makes sense as the Padres as looking for rotation options this offseason. With Niebla currently serving as the pitching coach in San Diego, the signing becomes even more logical.

In 2017 as McKenzie was still a prospect in Cleveland's organization, he discussed in an interview how the franchise had worked with him to incorporate his changeup into a mix that was primarily fastball and curveball. However, McKenzie has now dropped the changeup from his arsenal, relying primarily on his fastball, throwing it 80.5 percent of the time last season per Baseball Savant.

What do the Padres see in Triston McKenzie?

McKenzie's career can be sliced into two chapters. In the first chapter, beginning with his debut during the 2020 season, he posted impressive numbers. That chapter hit hits high point in 2022 as McKenzie logged a 2.96 ERA in 191.1 innings, striking out 25.6 percent of the batters he faced.

However, in 2023, he dealt with shoulder and elbow issues, making only four starts that season. When he returned in 2024, his ERA jumped to 5.11 and he allowed 8.2 hits per nine innings. Last season saw more trouble for McKenzie as he appeared in just four games before being designated for assignment.

Niebla was hired by the Padres after the 2021 campaign, showing his worth to McKenzie's development during his early years. Now the Padres are taking a low risk by signing McKenzie and reuniting him with Niebla, who could be able to unlock what worked so well for McKenzie during his first three MLB seasons.

From San Diego's perspective, taking a chance on McKenzie could potentially not only provide depth but also an answer in the rotation (or perhaps the bullpen, depending on how they choose to use him). It's a signing that has the potential to pay off for the Padres if the Niebla-McKenzie connection can click as it did in Cleveland.