Padres' 8.49-ERA Pitcher Quietly Played Through Injury This Season

San Diego Padres manager Craig Stammen appeared to settle the debate over Matt Waldron's future with the club earlier this week.

Waldron had struggled since joining the starting rotation last month and was sporting an 9.28 ERA with 18 strikeouts across 21.1 innings of work after his appearance as the expected bulk option on Tuesday.

The right-hander allowed six runs, eight hits and issued three walks while lasting just 2.2 innings. The nightmarish performance had been an ongoing for Waldron in 2026, which led team insider Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune to believe that Waldron would be designated for assignment before Lucas Giolito made his Padres debut on Sunday against the Seattle Mariners.

Waldron, himself, admitted he knew his situation was dim given the current state of the roster and rotation.

“Safe to say my ERA and my numbers aren’t too attractive right now,” Waldron said after Tuesday's game. “And I have no options, so I mean, yeah, that’s where I’ll leave it. I’m smart enough. But, yeah, I’m one day at a time right now.”

However, Waldron appeared to be safe from getting cut after Stammen addressed the media.

On Thursday, after Waldron pitched two scoreless innings in relief to lower his ERA to 8.49, Stammen revealed the Padres were moving the right-hander to the bullpen as a length option. Then, on Friday, Waldron was placed on the injured list with a right brachialis muscle injury.

Stammen revealed Waldron has been playing through injury, which likely played a role in his rough performance in 2026.

“Matt came out of the game yesterday with a little barking in the biceps, the brachialis. It’s unfortunate that it happened. We were obviously pitching him on short rest. It looked like he came into the game feeling good," Stammen said to reporters on Friday.

“All reports were that he was good to go. But after the game he got a little stiffer than usual, a little bit more tired and a little bit more sore today."

Acee provided some insight into Waldron's injury, and the fact that he was quietly playing through it to maintain his spot on the roster.

"According to multiple people, he has been receiving treatment for discomfort in his upper arm," Acee wrote. "Those people, all of whom are involved in the everyday oversight of players health, said Waldron didn’t tell anyone with the team about the severity of the injury until Thursday. And a pitcher trying to keep his spot in the rotation (and his job) kept quiet about an injury is not terribly uncommon."

While the Padres don't want to see Waldron injured, it does allow the team to keep him in the organization, at least for the time being.

Waldron is out of options, meaning if the Padres wanted to remove him from the roster, he would have to be designated for assignment.

“It’s never good when someone goes on the injured list," Stammen said. "But, eventually we were going to have to make a move this week. I like Matt. We’ll get to that point on a decision when we get to that point. We feel very good with Matt on our team. We like what he brings to the table. He gives us a lot of options and rotation depth and he can pitch out of the bullpen. And he has a unique pitch.

“Hopefully, this injury doesn’t take long and we get him back soon."

Once Waldron returns from the IL, the Padres may have to decide whether to keep him on the roster or DFA him. But for now, they can kick the can down the road on that decision until Waldron gets fully healthy.

When Will Matt Waldron Return From Injury?

As of now, Stammen doesn't have a firm timetable for Waldron's return.

“Hopefully, this injury doesn’t take long and we get him back soon" Stammen said. "I wouldn’t say Matt’s injury is rare. A lot of guys go through this type of thing and try to pitch through it, which is what he was trying to do. It finally gets to a certain point, where you’re thinking, ‘I’m not as good as I should be when I’m out on the mound.’ I think that’s what he was starting to feel.

“It’s like, ‘If I’m going to be out there, I want to be 100 percent.’ I don’t want to be at 80 percent and trying to gut it out. He didn’t need to do that. So, now we have time to be able to settle him down a little bit and get him back out there when he’s 100 percent.

"I do not have a target for how many days that might take.”

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