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Jake Esch

Padres Select Phil Maton, Designate Jake Esch For Assignment

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The Padres have selected the contract of righty Phil Maton from Triple-A El Paso. To clear roster space, they’ve optioned righty Kevin Quackenbush to El Paso and designated righty Jake Esch for assignment.

[Related: Updated San Diego Padres Depth Chart]

The 24-year-old Maton had an impressive 2.84 ERA, 11.0 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 over 25 1/3 innings of relief in the tough pitching environment of El Paso and has generally dominated the minor leagues since the Padres selected him in the 20th round of the 2015 draft, posting a 1.89 career pro ERA. Padres manager Andy Green chalks some of Maton’s success up to a high spin rate and also a release point that’s closer to home than most pitchers, as Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets.

The Padres added the 27-year-old Esch on a waiver claim late in Spring Training. He had been a starter in the Marlins system who looked like a potential back-of-the-rotation pitcher in the big leagues. He has pitched sparingly in 2017 due in part to injury, making one appearance in the big leagues and three in the minors.

Roster Notes: Tigers, Marlins, Mets, Braves, Padres, Indians

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Here are a few roster moves from around the game:

  • The Tigers announced that, after Friday’s game, they optioned righty William Cuevas to Triple-A Toledo and promoted righty Warwick Saupold to take his place. Cuevas made his 2017 big-league debut Friday and didn’t make a good impression, giving up four runs over just a third of an inning. Saupold was off to a good start for Toledo, allowing just two runs and three walks while striking out nine over 10 2/3 innings.
  • After a 16-inning ballgame depleted the Marlins bullpen, the club has called up southpaw Jarlin Garcia, as Tim Healey of the Sun Sentinel reported. Righty Nick Wittgren was sent back down to Triple-A on optional assignment in a corresponding move.
  • Miami’s opponent in that marathon game, the Mets, also dipped into their farm for an arm. New York announced that Sean Gilmartin will take a spot in the pen. Utilityman T.J. Rivera will be optioned for the time being, though he seems likely to return once the pitching staff gets back on its feet.
  • Braves outfielder Matt Kemp, meanwhile, is slated to return on Wednesday from a hamstring issue, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets, meaning he’d only miss the ten-day minimum. Meanwhile, Atlanta has called up righty Luke Jackson for his first stint with the club. Fellow right-hander Jason Hursh was optioned to create an opening.
  • The Padres have also done some roster tweaking, activating catcher Hector Sanchez from the 7-day concussion DL and also calling back righty Kevin Quackenbush. The club also announced that Jabari Blash and Jake Esch were optioned to make way on the active roster. While Blash has been outrighted off the 40-man in the past, and was only recently re-added when he was recalled, he’ll hold onto his spot for the time being while reporting to Triple-A.
  • The Indians have swapped a pair of righties, with the club announcing that Nick Goody will come up and Shawn Armstrong will head down. The move gave the team a fresh arm after Armstrong threw 49 pitches Thursday. Goody pitched two scoreless innings in his 2017 big-league debut last night.

Padres Claim Jake Esch, Designate Cesar Vargas

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The Padres have claimed righty Jake Esch off waivers from the Marlins, per club announcements. San Diego has designated fellow righty Cesar Vargas for assignment to accommodate the addition.

Esch, who just turned 27, reached the majors for the first time last year. Though he didn’t have much opportunity to prove himself in only three outings, and surrendered four home runs in just 13 innings, he showed an arsenal that Pitch F/X classified as featuring six distinct pitches.

While Esch has hardly dominated in the minors, perhaps San Diego believes there’s a chance he could function as a useful starter or swingman. He has pitched in the upper minors in each of the past two seasons. In 2016, he recorded a 4.31 ERA with 6.1 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 over 142 frames, most of them coming at the Double-A level.

As for Vargas, 25, the move surely comes as a bit of a surprise. He had shown a solid K/BB rate in the upper minors over the past few seasons, mostly in relief, and earned a surprising shot at the Padres’ rotation in 2016. Vargas was bombed in his final outing before leaving with an injury that turned out to be a season-ending flexor strain. Prior to that unfortunate turn, though, he threw 32 2/3 innings of 3.34 ERA ball over six starts.

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