Padres Recall Tom Cosgrove For MLB Debut
3:20pm: The Padres have now officially announced Cosgrove’s recall, optioning Weathers in a corresponding move.
2:09pm: The Padres are calling up left-handed reliever Tom Cosgrove, as reported by USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (via Twitter). It’ll be the 26-year-old’s MLB debut whenever he gets into a game. Cosgrove was added to the Padres’ 40-man roster back in November to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft, so they only need to make a corresponding 26-man roster move in order to accommodate his promotion to the Majors.
A 12th-round pick by the Padres back in 2017, Cosgrove has opened the 2023 season with 7 1/3 shutout frames in Triple-A, fanning seven of his 26 opponents (26.9%) but also walking four of them along the way (15.4%). Cosgrove was a starter early in his professional career but moved to the bullpen coming out of the canceled 2020 minor league season and has seen his numbers take off since the switch to short relief.
In 2021, the lefty notched a 2.36 ERA in 26 2/3 innings at the Double-A level, and he turned in a combined 3.72 ERA in 55 2/3 frames between Double-A and Triple-A last year. He’s walked 10.8% of his opponents between Double-A and Triple-A but also has an impressive 33.4% strikeout rate between those two levels.
The Padres already have four lefties in their bullpen, with each of Josh Hader, Tim Hill, Ray Kerr and Ryan Weathers giving manager Bob Melvin a southpaw option. San Diego relievers rank 22nd in the Majors with a 4.71 ERA, although that number is skewed a bit by a handful of poor outings from Luis Garcia, Reiss Knehr and Nabil Crismatt. Most of the individual relievers in San Diego’s relief corps have been solid.
The Padres just had an off-day Monday, but the bullpen covered a combined four innings yesterday and a combined 11 1/3 innings in the team’s past three games overall. Cosgrove hasn’t pitched since April 22, so he’ll give them a well-rested arm to slot into the mix. He’s in the first of three minor league option years, so he could be shuttled between El Paso and San Diego several times this year.
Padres Select Tom Cosgrove
The Padres have selected the contract of left hander Tom Cosgrove and added him to the 40-man roster.
A 12th round pick in 2017, Cosgrove initially worked as a starting pitcher in the Padres system, but was moved to a relief role last year. He split time this season between Double-A and Triple-A. His promotion to the top level of the minor leagues came after he tossed 25 2/3 innings of 2.45 ERA ball, striking out 38.2% of batters and walking 12.7%. While the strikeout rate was impressive, he certainly benefited from an 88.2% LOB rate and a .205 BABIP.
He struggled a bit at Triple-A, although he still managed to strike out 33.6% of batters faced. However, his walks remained an issue and he gave up a home run every five innings. On the whole, he finished with a 4.80 ERA across 30 innings at the higher level.
While Cosgrove hasn’t exactly dominated the minor leagues, the Padres 40-man roster stands at 34 after this addition, so it certainly didn’t hurt to add Cosgrove and avoid losing him in the Rule 5 draft. As a lefty with strong strikeout numbers, Cosgrove could provide some helpful bullpen depth next season.