6:06 pm: The Padres officially announced Avila’s promotion. Catcher Austin Nola was transferred to the 60-day injured list to open 40-man roster space. Nola underwent season-ending thumb surgery last week.
11:14 am: The Padres will select the contract of right-hander Pedro Avila and give him the start in tonight’s game, reports Daniel Alvarez Montes of El Extra Base (Twitter link). They’ll need to make a corresponding 40-man roster move.
Avila, 24, will be returning to the big leagues for his second stint. He first debuted as a 22-year-old back in 2019, making an April spot start in which he allowed just one run in 5 1/3 innings. San Diego optioned him back to Triple-A El Paso the next day, and he’d continue to pitch there until sustaining an elbow injury that eventually led to Tommy John surgery. The Padres removed him from the 40-man roster that winter as they made a series of transactions in advance of the Rule 5 Draft, but they re-signed Avila to a new minor league pact the day after he elected free agency.
Avila wasn’t in the Padres’ player pool during last year’s shortened season, but he’s returned to the mound in 2021 and split the season between Double-A and Triple-A. In a combined 74 2/3 frames, Avila has worked to a 4.22 ERA with a solid 25.1 percent strikeout rate but a lofty 11 percent walk rate.
San Diego’s rotation has been decimated by injury in 2021. Joe Musgrove and Vince Velasquez — the latter of whom was signed after being released by the Phillies — are the only healthy starters on the active roster at the moment (with Dinelson Lamet currently working out of the bullpen). Blake Snell, Yu Darvish, Chris Paddack and Adrian Morejon are all on the injured list. Top prospect Ryan Weathers, meanwhile, is down in Triple-A after struggling badly following an impressive two-month stretch to begin his MLB career.
All of that will lead to a late cup of coffee for Avila, who could function as a depth option for the Padres next year if he sticks on the 40-man roster all winter. Avila still has a pair of minor league option years remaining, which is critical for him given the lack of an obvious path to a rotation spot next season. Darvish, Snell, Musgrove, Lamet, Paddack, Morejon and Mike Clevinger are all either signed or under team control in 2022 and figure to be in the mix for rotation innings. Alternatively, Avila could vie for a spot in next year’s bullpen; he’s split his time in the minors as a starter and reliever in 2021.
If even a few of these injured starters come back in 2022, the Padres have a great chance to finish at .500!
Preller is going to trade him for a 2nd baseman
#LOL POBRES
Nah but if there’s a clear overachiever who they can trade top prospects for, Prellers on the case!
No he will sign him to mega contract
Welcome to the mess, Pedro.
I’m a Giants fan. The Padres will be better next season. If their rotation is healthy, they’ll be formidable.
Yea because Darvish is so lights out
I’m thinking more Lamet, Paddock, Clevinger (although after TJ#2 . . .?) and a better version of Snell.
Next blast from the past. Jacob Nix.
I think the (doggie) door is closed on his time as a Padre. Drafted in 2015 which means he can be a 6-year minor league FA this offseason.
I gave you a like just for the doggie door reference.
I’ll take it
Derek Norris’ exit from the Padres may yet pay dividends.
Already released Avila then brought him back on a minor league deal. The book is closed on the Norris trade.
Remove — I think I’ll keep that book open. There is less than a 1% chance Avila is a Padre if not for the Norris trade. Thus, the Norris trade (as in, his exit) could yet still pay dividends. Avila may not pan out. But he’ll hopefully give them more than a retired Norris currently does.
@Steve Garvey’s Son Avila is 100% a Padre if not for the Norris trade. They signed him as a minor league FA. It’s not rocket science fam.
I don’t want to get into a spitting match, here. It’s really simple and can be backed up with numerous other examples from every single team in baseball. The Norris trade happens. Avila becomes a Padre. He labors on and eventually the Padres get him to stick around via a minor league deal. If Avila had been, say, a Rockie or a Ray, likely he would have re-signed with them. So, you’re right, that 1% is wrong. It is likely much LOWER than that. Do you know ANYTHING about baseball? Actually, don’t answer that.
If Avila becomes a part of of the team in 2022, we have Derek Norris to thank. Maybe you won’t thank Derek but EVERY other Padres fan will. Maybe you’re just joking or a parody. I don’t know.
@Steve Garvey’s Son Your logic doesn’t follow. If the Padres never traded for Avila and then the Nats (or whoever they traded him to) released him there would have been nothing stopping the Padres from signing him. To say otherwise means you just don’t understand how baseball works.
I am not an autist. But do you know who is? The creator of Pokémon. So if you are going to waltz around using “autistic” as an insult you better have never played those games at any point in your life.
Why not bring him up earlier, couldn’t of been worse than Arietta & Velasquez !!
Yeah, two months ago
MacKenzie Gore: Am I a joke to you!?
Yes.
Avila has been a reliever in AAA this season. He did make some starts in AA, but was marginal.
Clevinger will not come back as a top of the rotation starter. No starter that has had 2 Tommy John surgeries ever has. Of the other 43 that had the surgery twice, none has ever returned in that first year to make 10+ starts. After his 2nd TJ surgery in 2008, Chris Capuano returned in 2010 and then made 31 starts in his 2nd year back in 2011 and put up a 4.55 ERA. The problem for the Padres is that Clevinger will be a FA after 2022.
Morejon had his TJ surgery in late April, so the soonest he should be expected is May of 2022. He will need time in the minors to get in game situations and build up his pitch count. June or even July are more realistic time lines for him.
If only Brett Kennedy and Allen Cordoba were still around