Lucas Giolito was called up from Double-A San Antonio today and will start for the Padres against the Mariners. The 31-year-old right-hander’s first major league appearance for San Diego comes after the club spent the season piecing together its rotation.
To make room, the Padres optioned right-hander Alek Jacob to Triple-A in the corresponding move. Giolito signed a one-year deal with San Diego last month that included a $3 million base salary and $5 million in incentives, and he reached this point after missing spring training.
Giolito's Minor League Tune-Up
Giolito made four minor league starts before the call-up and threw 17 innings with a 4.76 ERA. He struck out 19.5% of the hitters he faced and walked 7.8% of them.
His most recent outing was his sharpest. He worked six innings, allowed one run on three hits and did not issue a walk against the Athletics’ Double-A affiliate.
Padres Rotation Pressure
The move fits a staff that has had little roster flexibility. None of the five starters currently on the Padres roster can be optioned, which has forced the club to keep searching for workable answers as the season has unfolded.
Matt Waldron has been one of those complications. He has a 9.28 ERA in five appearances, including three starts, and he has already acknowledged the numbers have not helped his case. Asked by Kevin Acee about a possible DFA, Craig Stammen called it early
to talk about that possibility.
That leaves Giolito with a clear assignment: stabilize a rotation that has not settled yet and give San Diego a starter it could not find from its current group. His debut also gives the Padres a low-cost chance to see whether the minor league reset translates right away against Seattle.
