Matt Waldron

The procedural move frees up a spot on Washington’s 40-man roster to claim pitching prospect Chase Hampton off waivers from the Yankees. Waldron is out for the season after hitting the injured list with chest inflammation earlier this month.

Waldron hits the shelf following three appearances for the Nationals after being claimed off waivers from the Blue Jays last month. The 29-year-old holds a lackluster 6.54 ERA across 42 2/3 innings between the Nationals, Blue Jays and Padres this season.

Waldron heads to his third different organization this season after being cut loose by the Blue Jays earlier this week. The 29-year-old figures to operate in a swingman-type role for the Nationals over the final five weeks of the season. He’s posted a bloated 7.54 ERA across 37 innings of work in the big leagues this year.

Waldron, claimed off waivers from the Padres earlier this month, gave up five runs over 4 1/3 innings in his four outings for the Jays. He could be claimed by another team looking for someone to soak up innings.

Waldron had put together some solid runs of production since switching to throwing his knuckleball as his primary pitch. However, he had a 7.16 ERA in 32 2/3 innings for the Padres this season. It’s an interesting gamble for the Blue Jays. He’s out of options, so he’ll presumably go right on to the active roster.

Waldron has posted a 7.16 ERA in 32 2/3 innings for the Padres this season. He’s unlikely to be claimed on waivers, so the team could re-sign him to a minor league deal and keep him as organizational depth.

Waldron, who has an 8.49 ERA in three starts and three relief appearances in the majors this year, was on the verge of being DFA’d when the Padres placed him on the IL with a right brachialis muscle injury in mid-May. He’s back with the club now and available to work in middle relief after allowing four runs in 15 innings over five rehab appearances with Triple-A El Paso.

Waldron pitched in a bulk relief role on Tuesday and then was used out of the bullpen once again on Thursday by the Padres. It’s unclear exactly when the injury occurred or the severity of it. Alek Jacob was recalled from Triple-A El Paso to take his spot in the Padres’ bullpen.

Waldron was supposed to go long as a bulk guy tonight, but after entering to begin the second, he couldn’t make it out of the fourth. He’s probably Triple-A bound now with his ERA up to 9.28. Lucas Giolito can come up and replace him in the rotation.

Waldron worked behind an opener today, which proved important since the Padres only took the lead for good in the seventh. If Waldron had come out after five, he would have missed out on his first win of the season. He’s still probably in line for a demotion now, as the Padres are off Monday and could have Lucas Giolito join the rotation afterwards.

The first run came in the second on a rally that started because Jackson Merrill got worried about the wall in center and misplayed Michael Conforto’s fly into a double. The other two came in the fourth, after Matt Shaw dropped down a bunt single with two outs and Pete Crow-Armstrong homered. Waldron struck out just one today. He might start against the Giants next week, but it won’t be long before he’s replaced in the San Diego rotation by Griffin Canning or Lucas Giolito.

The thin air of Colorado did Waldron’s knuckler no good today, so he threw the pitch just half as often as he did last time out. He has a 12.46 ERA after two starts, which might lead to a Triple-A demotion. If not, he’ll face the Cubs on Wednesday.

Waldron’s velocity was up this spring before his IL stint, and he held on to those gains tonight, with his fastball up about two mph and his knuckleball up three mph from where he was in 2024 before missing almost all of last season. That still doesn’t make him a great bet for fantasy purposes, but he has more of a chance against major league hitters than he used to. Of course, it still didn’t work out tonight, and we certainly wouldn’t trust him in Coors against the Rockies next week.

The 29-year-old knuckleballer will rejoin the Padres to start on Friday night against the Angels. Waldron made three starts at Triple-A El Paso on his minor league rehab assignment, hurling 12 scoreless innings with a 0.67 WHIP and a 12/1 K/BB ratio. He’s worth a look as a streaming option in deeper mixed leagues for Friday’s matchup against the Halos.

Waldron would be taking the place of Nick Pivetta (elbow) later this week against the Angels. The 29-year-old righty is currently on the injured list due to a well-publicized glute infection from back in spring training. It’s a strong matchup but he’s not worth the risk as a streaming option in fantasy leagues.

Waldron’s injury was one of the most circulated on social media as he underwent glute surgery to address an infection earlier this spring. He’ll most likely wind up at Triple-A El Paso once his rehab assignment concludes.

It was Waldron’s second outing back from a posterior infection. Just like in his first outing before being sidelined, his velocity was up 2-3 mph from last year. He’s not going to begin the year on the Padres’ roster, but if he keeps it up, he should be considered for a rotation spot before long.

Waldron is considered week-to-week, but this procedure will make it far less likely that he can make the starting rotation out of spring training. However, Waldron has zero minor league options, which means he either needs to make the team out of camp or land on the injured list, or else the Padres have to designate him for assignment.

94 isn’t remarkable for most major league pitchers, but Waldron has averaged 90 mph the last two years. Today, he was at 93 mph. The part-time knuckleballer entered camp as something of an afterthought after mostly struggling in Triple-A last year, but there’s still plenty to be decided in the San Diego rotation.