Inside The Padres

Padres Sign Former Braves, Tigers Pitcher to Bolster Depth

Maren Angus-Coombs|
May 24, 2023; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; San Diego Padres hats in the dugout during the game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-Imagn Images
May 24, 2023; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; San Diego Padres hats in the dugout during the game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-Imagn Images | Brad Mills-Imagn Images

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San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres made an under-the-radar move back on Dec. 20, 2024, signing pitcher Jake Higginbotham to a minor league deal.

Higginbotham was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 11th round of the 2018 draft and traded to the Detroit Tigers in December 2022.

Injuries have hindered Higginbotham since his days as a Clemson Tiger. He has yet to reach the big leagues. He lost innings during the COVID-shortened 2020 season and then was limited to 11.1 innings across nine appearances in 2021 before a stint in the Arizona Fall League.

“I pulled my teres major [muscle] off the bone in my left shoulder, and then I tore my lat,” he said during an interview in 2022. “It happened on one pitch, and it was the last pitch of my first outing in Double-A. There was no surgery involved. I rehabbed for about three, three and a half months and was back full speed.”

Higginbotham missed much of 2016 due to a stress fracture in his elbow, and a torn teres major muscle at Clemson sidelined him for the entire 2017 season.

His 2022 season marked his first fully healthy year since 2019. Pitching for Double-A Mississippi, he logged 51.1 innings, allowing 59 hits while striking out 48 and walking 18, finishing with a 4.73 ERA.

“My first four months of the season were really strong,” he said, “and [then I] not necessarily hit a wall, but it was more kind of that mental fatigue, the day-to-day grind, showing up and staying in a routine. So it was definitely an adjustment, and one that I think I’m more prepared for in 2023. It was a good opportunity to spend all year in Double-A and face some really good hitters, and I think I learned a lot just as far as how to train physically, how to prepare myself mentally every day and be ready to go to work.”

Signing with the Padres gives Higginbotham a fresh start and perhaps his educational background will help others in the San Diego organization.

Higginbotham majored in biomaterials engineering, which combines engineering and biology in the study and design of health systems, medical devices and products. It has also helped him understand the science of pitching.

“I actually went into Clemson as a chemical engineer,” he explained, “and unfortunately, all those classes were offered in the evening during our practice block. So I had to find something similar in engineering, and biomaterials was the closest thing to it. You’re kind of on the science side of engineering, and I kind of fell in love with it.

“It was a really cool experience. I learned a lot about how the body moves and how it works internally. It has definitely helped as far as that goes.”

The left-hander is 14-16 with a 3.46 ERA in his minor league career. He has appeared in 183 games striking out 294 across 275.1 innings.

More news: Padres Pitcher Predicted to Make First All-Star Team in 2025

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Maren Angus-Coombs
MAREN ANGUS-COOMBS

Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. Despite being raised in the South, her sports obsession has always been in Los Angeles. She is currently a staff writer for the LA Sports Report Network.

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