Padres Acquire Matt Wisler

The Padres announced the acquisition of righty Matt Wisler, who’ll make his way back to the place where his professional career began. In return, the Reds picked up righty Diomar Lopez.

Wisler’s career hasn’t gone the way some expected when he departed the San Diego organization in advance of the 2015 season. Then considered a high-quality pitching prospect who was a significant piece of the swap that sent Craig Kimbrel out west, Wisler failed to gain traction with the Braves.

For the most part, it was more of the same in 2018. Wisler turned in decent results in the upper minors and struggled badly in his limited opportunities in Atlanta, just as he had done in prior seasons.

After a late-season trade to the Reds, though, Wisler’s results perked up. He allowed just three earned runs in his 13 1/3 relief innings in Cincinnati. Things didn’t really get interesting until this spring, when Wisler ran up a 16:1 K/BB ratio in a dozen frames.

Since he’s out of options, Wisler will have to be carried on the active roster by the Friars. He could conceivably buttress a still-thin rotation, though the odds seemingly favor a relief role — perhaps including some multi-inning stints.