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Jackson Wolf

Padres Outright Jackson Wolf

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Today: Wolf has cleared waivers, and the Padres have sent him outright to Triple-A El Paso, according to his transaction log on MLB.com. Given his very limited MLB service time and the fact that this is his first career outright, he has no choice but to accept the assignment and remain at Triple-A.

August 8: The Padres announced Thursday that they’ve designated left-hander Jackson Wolf for assignment. He’d been pitching for their Triple-A affiliate in El Paso, and his 40-man spot will go to veteran righty Carl Edwards Jr., whose contract has been selected. San Diego optioned righty Alek Jacob to El Paso in a corresponding move.

Wolf, 25, was in his second stint with the Padres organization. Originally their fourth-round pick in 2021, he went to the Pirates at the 2023 trade deadline as part of the return for lefty Rich Hill and first baseman Jiman Choi. The Bucs designated Wolf for assignment earlier this year, however, and wound up trading him back to the Padres in exchange for minor league infielder Kervin Pichardo.

Wolf made his big league debut with the ’23 Padres, allowing three runs over five innings in his lone start. He’s spent the season with their El Paso club but struggled to a 7.21 ERA over 83 2/3 innings. He’s made 23 appearances, 18 of them starts. Wolf has unquestionably had some tough luck, yielding a .353 average on balls in play that should be due for some regression, but his 17.5% strikeout rate and 12.6% walk rate are both considerably worse than league average as well. Wolf’s 9.8% swinging-strike rate and 24.3% opponents’ chase rate are both sub-par marks, too. In general, he hasn’t induced whiffs or limited free passes enough to compensate for the amount of extra-base damage he’s yielded: 12 homers, 16 doubles, five triples.

This past offseason, Wolf ranked 21st among Pirates prospects, per Baseball America, whose scouting report tabbed him as a potential fifth starter or bulk reliever. His rough results in 2024 haven’t done any favors for his prospect stock, but Wolf is a 25-year-old who posted solid Double-A numbers in 2023 and is still in just the second of three minor league option years. A rebuilding club looking to stock up on pitching depth (e.g. Marlins, White Sox) could have some interest in an optionable lefty of this nature. The trade deadline has passed, so the Padres’ only course of action with Wolf will be to place him on waivers.

Edwards, 33 next month, will be in his second stint with the Padres as well. He briefly pitched 1 2/3 innings for San Diego back in 2019. He’s one of many former Rangers prospects who’ve found their way onto the Padres roster since the hiring of president of baseball operations A.J. Preller — a former Rangers assistant GM.

Edwards spent the 2022-23 seasons with the Nationals and pitched well out of manager Davey Martinez’s bullpen, tallying 93 2/3 innings of 3.07 ERA ball — albeit with shaky rate stats (20% strikeout rate, 10.6% walk rate). A stress fracture in Edwards’ right shoulder ended his 2023 campaign prematurely and limited him to a minor league deal this past offseason. That deal came with the Cubs, but Edwards triggered a June opt-out in that contract after he hadn’t been added to the big league roster and signed a minor league deal with the Padres.

It’s been a decent year for the lanky right-hander down in Triple-A. Between the Cubs and Padres organizations, he sports a combined 3.30 ERA but with similar strikeout and walk issues that existed during his Nats run. He’s set down a respectable 22.2% of opponents on strikes but also issued walks at a grim 14.3% rate. Edwards has been a reliever for the bulk of his career but was working out of the rotation in El Paso. He’s ticketed for the relief corps now that he’s back in the majors, but that recent work as a starter means he’s stretched out for multiple innings if needed.

Padres Acquire Jackson Wolf From Pirates

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The Padres have acquired left-hander Jackson Wolf from the Pirates, per announcements from both clubs, with minor league infielder Kervin Pichardo going the other way. Wolf had been designated for assignment by the Pirates last week and has now been optioned to Triple-A El Paso. The Friars had an open spot on their roster and won’t need to make a corresponding move.

Wolf, 25 this month, returns to his original organization. The Padres selected the lupine lefty in the fourth round of the 2021 draft but he was sent to the Bucs in the deal at last year’s deadline that sent Rich Hill and Jiman Choi to San Diego. Prior to that trade, Wolf had made 18 Double-A starts with a 4.08 earned run average, 29.8% strikeout rate and 6.3% walk rate. He also made one emergency start in the big leagues, allowing three earned runs in five innings.

His numbers after changing organizations were not as impressive. He made eight Double-A starts after the deal with a 4.25 ERA, 19.9% strikeout rate and 6.6% walk rate. Perhaps he was surpassed on the Pirates’ depth chart by guys like Paul Skenes and Jared Jones. The Bucs needed three Opening Day roster spots for Jones, Ryder Ryan and Hunter Stratton and Wolf was one of the casualties.

But losing his roster spot with Pittsburgh gives him the chance to rejoin the Padres. Pitching depth has been a concern for the Friars all winter as each of Blake Snell, Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Nick Martinez and Hill reached free agency. They added Michael King, Jhony Brito, Randy Vásquez and Drew Thorpe in the Juan Soto trade and then added Dylan Cease, sending Thorpe out in that deal.

They currently have a rotation consisting of Cease, King, Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove and Matt Waldron, with Brito in the big league bullpen as Vásquez and Jay Groome are on the 40-man and pitching in Triple-A. Wolf will join the latter two in that category and try to earn his next trip to the majors. He still has two option years remaining.

To reacquire Wolf, the Padres will part with Pichardo, whom they acquired from the Phillies in the 2022 deal that sent James Norwood the other way. He split 2023 between High-A and Double-A, striking out in 25.9% of his plate appearances but also drawing walks 12.5% of the time. His combined batting line of .257/.370/.402 translated to a wRC+ of 120.

He didn’t crack Baseball America’s list of the top 30 Padres prospects coming into the year but will give the Bucs a bit of extra minor league infield depth. He has played all four infield spots in his minor league career and a little bit in the outfield as well.

Pirates Designate Canaan Smith-Njigba, Jackson Wolf, Ali Sánchez For Assignment

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The Pirates announced a series of Opening Day roster moves, selecting the contracts of right-handers Jared Jones, Ryder Ryan and Hunter Stratton. All three of those moves were previously reported. In corresponding 40-man moves, outfielder Canaan Smith-Njigba, catcher Ali Sánchez and left-hander Jackson Wolf were designated for assignment.

Smith-Njigba, 25 in April, has clearly been on the margins of the roster in Pittsburgh since this is the second time he’s lost his spot in the past two months. He was designated for assignment in January and claimed off waivers by the Mariners. The Mariners put him back on waivers a couple of weeks later and the Bucs claimed him back. In between those two moves, the 60-day injured list had opened up, allowing the Bucs to put JT Brubaker there and squeeze Smith-Njigba back on, but he’s now been nudged off again.

He has hit .279/.373/.452 in Triple-A over the past two years but has a measly slash of .135/.250/.243 in his 44 major league plate appearances. Given his strong minor league work, which also includes 21 steals last year, he could attract the attention of other clubs. He also has one option year remaining, so a claiming club could keep him stashed in the minors until his services are needed.

Sánchez, 27, signed a major league deal with the club in December but the club’s catching situation has changed since then. In 2023, they largely relied on Endy Rodríguez behind the plate with Henry Davis playing right field. But Rodriguez required UCL surgery in the offseason that is going to keep him out of action for the entire 2024 campaign. This spring, the Bucs moved Davis back behind the plate and also signed Yasmani Grandal for a bit of insurance.

Davis seems to have taken well to moving back behind the plate and is now slated for the lion’s share of the work back there this year. Grandal is starting the season on the IL but the Pirates will roll with Jason Delay as the backup for now. Delay has options and can be sent to Triple-A when Grandal returns. Sánchez is out of options and wouldn’t be in the same position.

Sánchez hit a paltry .125/.263/.125  this spring, which surely didn’t help, and he has just 14 major league plate appearances on his track record. But he’s coming off a strong season in the minors, as he hit .311/.375/.492 for the Diamondbacks’ Triple-A team last year.

Wolf, 25 in April, came over to the Pirates in last year’s deal that sent Ji Man Choi and Rich Hill to the Padres, having made one career start with the Friars. He’s not an overpowering arm, with a fastball that sits in the low 90s, but has nonetheless found some decent results. Between his two clubs last year, he tossed 124 1/3 minor league innings with a 4.13 earned run average, 26.8% strikeout rate and 6.4% walk rate.

He came into this year as the club’s #21 prospect, per Baseball America, but has been nudged off the roster as guys like Jones, Paul Skenes and others have seemingly jumped ahead of him on the depth chart. He still has a couple of options and could intrigue clubs, especially with starting depth always being in demand.

The Bucs will have one week to find trading partners for Smith Njigba, Sanchez or Wolf or else try to pass them through waivers.

Padres Acquire Rich Hill, Ji Man Choi From Pirates

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4:00pm: The Padres have officially announced the deal.

12:08pm: The Padres are finalizing a trade that will see them acquire left-hander Rich Hill and first baseman Ji Man Choi from the Pirates, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. The Pirates will receive three minor league players in return, per Robert Murray of FanSided. One the prospects is Jackson Wolf, per Heyman. The other two players are Estuar Suero and Alfonso Rivas, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

The Padres spent heavily this winter but currently sport a disappointing 52-55 record that has them five games back in the National League Wild Card race. That puts them in a somewhat similar position to the Mets, who have been busy selling in recent days, flipping players like Max Scherzer, Mark Canha and David Robertson. The Padres, however, have decided on a different path and seem intent on buying. Recent reporting connected them to bats and relievers, as well as starters like Eduardo Rodriguez and Justin Verlander.

Choi, 32, could be the offensive upgrade they seek, though it’s not one without risk. He started the season with a dismal .125/.125/.344 line through nine games before landing on the injured list due to a left Achilles tendon strain. He returned from the IL a month ago and has been on a heater, slashing .268/.295/.634 since being activated. That’s a small sample of just 44 plate appearances, though it’s closer to his previous track record than that early-season slump. From 2017 to 2022, Choi hit .245/.350/.436 for a wRC+ of 120.

Choi played some left field earlier in his career but has been first base only for many years now. That happens to be a spot where the Padres could use some help. Jake Cronenworth has been the regular at that spot this season after hitting .256/.338/.431 in the previous three campaigns but he’s slashing just .219/.310/.365 here in 2023. He has the ability to play the other infield slots, so perhaps he moves into more of a utility role going forward.

Hill, 43, gives the Padres a reliable lefty for the back of their bullpen. He’s obviously been around for many years, but is still fairly effective. He has a 4.76 ERA in 22 starts this season, striking out 19.6% of opponents against an 8.9% walk rate. The Padres already have a strong top of the rotation with pitchers like Joe Musgrove and Blake Snell. The latter is an impending free agent and speculative trade candidate, though it seems the Padres are inclined to hold on and try to compete this year.

As for the rest of the rotation, Yu Darvish and Seth Lugo have a couple of spots spoken for but Michael Wacha has been on the injured list for close to a month due to a shoulder issue. The Friars have since given spot starts to pitchers like Wolf, Adrián Morejón and Ryan Weathers without much success and will now patch that hole over with Hill. Wacha is expected back in mid-August, per Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. If everyone is healthy at that point, the club may have to use a six-man rotation or bump someone to the bullpen, but that would likely be considered a good problem to have.

It’s unclear if any money is exchanging hands in the deal. Choi is making $4.65MM this year, his final arbitration season before becoming a free agent, with about $1.53MM left to be paid out. Hill signed a straight one-year, $8MM deal in the offseason, with about $2.62MM left on that. That means there’s a total of $4.15MM going to the Padres unless the Pirates have thrown in some cash considerations. Roster Resource has already added those figures to San Diego’s competitive balance tax figure, which now sits at $280MM. It had been speculated by some observers that the Padres, if they sold, would try to dip under the third CBT line of $273MM. That would have prevented their top 2024 draft pick from being moved back 10 spots, but now that they are adding rather than subtracting, that doesn’t seem likely.

For the Pirates, they started out strong this year but have faded from contention, currently sitting nine games out of a playoff spot. It’s perfectly sensible for them to give up a couple of impending free agents for pieces that could help them in the future. Rivas seems like he could potentially step right in and replace Choi at first base, especially since the Pirates also flipped Carlos Santana in recent days.

Rivas, 26, made his major league debut with the Cubs in 2021 but was released in January of this year and signed a minor league deal with the Padres. Between the two clubs, he has a .245/.330/.323 batting line in the majors, walking at a decent 9.9% clip but striking out in 31.2% of his plate appearances. But he’s hit a much stronger .313/.424/.492 in Triple-A, dating back to 2019. The Pirates could perhaps give him the last couple months of the season to get major league reps and see if he can carry any of that up with him. He can also slot into an outfield corner.

Wolf, 24, was just added to the club’s 40-man roster a couple of weeks ago. He was recently ranked the club’s #11 prospect by FanGraphs and #20 by Baseball America. He posted a 3.39 ERA in Double-A prior to his recent promotion. After one big league start of five innings, he was sent back down and shelled for eight earned runs in another Double-A start, but his ERA at that level still sits at 4.08 for the year. He can provide the Pirates with some immediate rotation depth and perhaps be in line for more time in the big leagues this year or next.

Suero, 17, is a much longer-term prospect acquisition for the Pirates. FanGraphs listed him as San Diego’s #10 prospect last month, but added that he’s probably the most high-variance member of the bunch. They list him as a 6’5″ outfielder who used to be very skinny but has recently gotten stronger. He’s striking out in about 30% of his plate appearances in the lower levels of the minors but has the speed-and-defense combo down. The key question will be whether he hits or not.

With still a few hours to go, the ever-busy Padres might still make a few more moves, while the Pirates might still move someone like Austin Hedges. Players like Mitch Keller and David Bednar have also drawn interest but they each still have years of club control and seem unlikely to be moved.

Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Padres Designate Domingo Tapia For Assignment

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The Padres announced several roster moves this afternoon ahead of tonight’s game against the Tigers. The club placed right-hander Alek Jacob on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to July 21) with right elbow inflammation. To replace Jacob on the active roster, the club selected the contract of left-hander Jackson Wolf, as previously expected. Right-hander Domingo Tapia was designated for assignment to make room for Wolf on the club’s 40-man roster.

Jacob made his big league debut just last week, and his move to the shelf puts a promising start to his major league career on hold. In three big league appearances, the 25 year old has racked up five strikeouts against just one walk in three scoreless innings of work. Jacob’s early success in the big league’s comes on the heels of a dominant performance at the Double-A level prior to his call-up to the majors where he posted a 1.32 ERA in 27 1/3 innings with a 29.4% strikeout rate.

Taking Jacob’s place on the active roster is Wolf, a 24-year-old lefty for whom his first appearance with the Padres will be his major league debut. That opportunity seems likely to come tonight, with Wolf poised to take the ball to start tonight’s game in Detroit. To this point in the 2023 campaign, Wolf has pitched out of the rotation for San Diego’s Double-A affiliate in San Antonio. In 85 innings of work across 17 starts, Wolf has posted a solid 3.39 ERA with a 31.3% strikeout rate.

Wolf’s selection likely brings to an end Tapia’s time with the Padres, for whom he posted a solid 3.57 ERA in 17 2/3 innings of work (albeit with a less impressive 5.38 FIP). In addition to San Diego, Tapia has also played in Oakland, Kansas City, and Seattle since making his major league debut for the Red Sox back in 2020. Overall, Tapia sports a 4.21 ERA and 4.40 FIP in 72 2/3 innings of work at the big league level. Going forward, the Padres will have seven days to waive, trade, or release the 31-year-old journeyman. Should the club pass him through waivers and attempt to assign him outright to the minors, Tapia will have the opportunity to reject that assignment and test free agency as a player who has been previously outrighted in his career.

Padres To Select Jackson Wolf

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The Padres are calling up pitcher Jackson Wolf for tomorrow’s game in Detroit, manager Bob Melvin tells AJ Cassavell of MLB.com (Twitter link). The club hasn’t decided whether Wolf will start the contest or work in relief. They’ll need to formally select him onto the 40-man roster tomorrow.

Wolf, 24, was a fourth-round selection out of West Virginia in the 2021 draft. The 6’7″ lefty split his first full professional season between High-A and Double-A. He has spent 2023 with Double-A San Antonio, starting all 17 appearances. He has excelled through 85 innings, pitching to a 3.39 ERA. Wolf is striking hitters out at an elite 31.3% rate and has only walked 6% of opposing batters.

That was a strong enough showing the Friars will skip him past the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League entirely. He makes the jump straight from Double-A to at least get the opportunity for his major league debut. San Diego has been without Michael Wacha for nearly three weeks due to shoulder inflammation, leaving a rotation vacancy.

Earlier this month, Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs ranked Wolf the #11 prospect in a relatively thin San Diego farm system. While his fastball only sits in the upper 80s, Longenhagen credits him with a plus slider and suggests his lower arm slot presents a particularly challenging look for left-handed hitters.

San Diego’s 40-man roster is full. They’ll likely wind up designating someone for assignment tomorrow to create space.

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