Matt Waldron

The San Diego Padres are expected to activate right-hander Matt Waldron (abdomen) from the 15-day injured list and have him make a start this weekend in Anaheim against the Los Angeles Angels, according to Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune. Waldron had hemorrhoid surgery in late February and landed on the IL for the start of the 2026 regular season. He's apparently healed up now, and at least for one turn through the rotation, he'll take the spot of injured right-hander Nick Pivetta (elbow). He has earned a start in the big leagues after tossing 12 scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts and one walk in his three starts at Triple-A El Paso. Waldron will most likely get the start for Friday's series opener against the Angels, and if he pitches well, he could see more starts until Pivetta can return from his elbow injury. The 29-year-old has just a 20.3% career strikeout rate with a 4.86 ERA and 1.29 WHIP in 36 career major-league appearances (33 starts) for the Padres, so he won't be a very popular streamer this weekend in his first start of the year.