Phillies Sign Nicholas Padilla To Minor League Deal

The Phillies have signed right-hander Nicholas Padilla to a minor league deal, according to the transactions tracker on Padilla’s MLB.com player profile page. Padilla has updated his personal Instagram page to reflect his new team.

Padilla, 27, was a 13th-round pick by the Rays back in 2015 but struggled somewhat in the lower minors as a starter before eventually converting to relief in 2019. He pitched well at Single-A in 2019, his first full season out of the bullpen, with a 3.48 ERA and a 26.3% strikeout rate in 62 innings of work. That wound up being his last work in the Rays organization, however, as Padilla did not pitch during the cancelled minor league season in 2020 and was selected by the Cubs during the minor league phase of that year’s Rule 5 draft.

The right-hander kicked off his Cubs career at the High-A level in 2021 but pitched just 1 2/3 innings that year before being sidelined by injury. Once he was healthy again in 2022, he rapidly rose through the minor leagues. After dominating the High-A and Double-A levels early in the season, Padilla found himself promoted to Triple-A and pitched excellent in ten appearances with the Iowa Cubs. In those 14 2/3 innings of work, Padilla struck out 28.8% of opponents while posting a sterling 1.23 ERA. That was enough for the Cubs to give him a taste of big league action, as he was selected to the roster and made the 27th man during a doubleheader against the Cardinals.

That big league cup of coffee lasted just one game, however. Padilla pitched 1 2/3 innings of work for Chicago, where he surrendered one run on two hits and two walks while notching a strikeout, but was designated for assignment just two weeks later. That brought an end to his Cubs career as he was claimed off waivers by the crosstown White Sox, though he did not make an appearance for them down the stretch after being optioned to Triple-A Charlotte.

Padilla eventually made his debut on the south side in May of 2023, but rode the shuttle between Triple-A and the majors that year to make just three appearances in the big leagues. His performance in both the majors and minors was somewhat lackluster, as he posted a 5.79 ERA in 4 2/3 big league innings and a 5.52 ERA across 44 Triple-A appearances that year. He was outrighted off the club’s roster last November but remained with the club throughout the 2024 season. He posted a 2.92 ERA with a 30.3% strikeout rate in 37 innings of work this year but did not make it to the big league level and elected free agency earlier this offseason.

Now Padilla will join the fourth organization of his career in hopes of catching on with Philadelphia. For the Phillies, Padilla offers a depth arm for the club’s bullpen who is capable of pitching multiple innings in relief, a role that could be useful for them to have depth for given the departure of Spencer Turnbull in free agency earlier this month. Of course, the club’s up-and-coming young pitchers such as Andrew Painter, Seth Johnson, and Mick Abel could all contribute in that role, or perhaps even bump veteran Taijuan Walker out of the rotation following a difficult 2024 campaign and into that long relief role. Given that, Padilla would likely need to impress in Spring Training to snag a 40-man roster spot out of camp or wait for injuries to create space in the club’s bullpen throughout the 2025 campaign.