Matt Waldron’s Injury Update

San Diego Padres pitcher Matt Waldron might start the season on injured reserve. He’s been in the hospital recently due to an infection and had to undergo surgery for hemorrhoids. Manager Craig Stammen shared the news with reporters on Tuesday.

Stammen mentioned that Waldron, 29, is expected to be released from the hospital soon, though it all hinges on how quickly he heals.

“I had an infection in my butt, so I needed surgery to drain the pus and make things better,” Stammen said. Depending on how well the wound heals and how Waldron feels, he’s likely to miss every week for a while.

Before this setback, Waldron was in excellent shape, having shown improved velocity and a strong knuckleball during spring training. In his only start, he pitched two scoreless innings and struck out two batters.

Drafted in the 18th round of the 2019 MLB Draft, Waldron played in one major league game last season, where he pitched 4.2 innings, allowing four earned runs, with three strikeouts and six walks. In Triple-A, he started 18 games, pitching 82.1 innings with a 6.67 ERA.

Throughout his career with the Padres, Waldron has participated in 36 games, recording eight wins, 15 losses, and a 4.86 ERA over 192.2 innings in the major leagues.

With Waldron sidelined, competition is heating up among pitchers Randy Vazquez, Walker Buehler, German Marquez, JP Sears, Triston McKenzie, and Marco Gonzalez for the final two spots in the Padres’ starting rotation.