The Padres have declined their two-year, $32MM club option on the services of right-hander for the 2024 and 2025 campaigns, per . Wacha will now have the opportunity to decide between exercising a $6.5MM player option for the 2024 season or hitting the open market, with Lin noting that Wacha is expected to become a free agent. Wacha first signed with the Padres this past offseason on a four-year, $26MM guarantee, though it now Mike Yastrzemski Jersey appears likely that deal will wind up being for just one year and $7.5MM. At the time, the 32-year-old righty was coming off his best season in several years after posting a 3.32 ERA and 4.14 FIP acro s 23 starts with the Red Sox in 2022. Though at the time it was easy to wonder if Wacha would regre s back to the 4.62 ERA he had posted from 2016-2021, he managed to build upon his 2022 with an even stronger 2023 season. In 24 starts (134 1/3 innings), Wacha posted a 3.22 ERA that was 27% better than league average by ERA+ with a 3.89 FIP and a 22.4% strikeout rate. Given that improvement, its something of a surprise that the club would decline to retain Wacha on what would have effectively been a two-year, $32MM pact, particularly with now slated to join in departing San Diego for the open market. Indeed, a revealed that nearly 44% of respondents expected the Padres to pick up Wachas options, a total that edges out the 39% of respondents who suggested that Wacha would return to the open market this offseason. Of course, its nece sary to consider the financial component of the move. After all, the Padres seem to be facing this offseason that could require them to pare payroll down to . The departures of Lugo and Martinez, along with the clubs decision to decline Wachas option, have cut the clubs payroll for 2024 to just over $197MM, per . Should Wacha decline his option as expected, that would drop the figure to just under $191MM. That could allow the club to avoid more drastic changes to cut payroll, such as a of star left fielder . Of course, a payroll of $200MM would allow them just $9MM of room in the budget to replace three of the clubs regular rotation members and their top depth option for the starting staff, to say nothing of the lo s of closer or potential upgrades to the lineup. If the Padres hope to patch the holes in their pitching staff and fine-tune their position player group, it seems reasonable to expect additional moves to trim the clubs payroll. As for Wacha, he appears poised to join a free agent market thats in starting pitching options. While he wont compete at the top of the market alongside the likes of , Snell, and , Wacha will add another interesting mid-rotation option to a group that already includes the likes of Lugo, , , and in the event that he decides to decline his player option and test the open market. Dave Kingman Jersey
The Padres have declined their two-year, $32MM club option on the services of right-hander for the 2024 and 2025 campaigns, per . Wacha will now have the opportunity to decide between exercising a $6.5MM player option for the 2024 season or hitting the open market, with Lin noting that Wacha is expected to become a free agent. Wacha first signed with the Padres this past offseason on a four-year, $26MM guarantee, though it now Mike Yastrzemski Jersey appears likely that deal will wind up being for just one year and $7.5MM. At the time, the 32-year-old righty was coming off his best season in several years after posting a 3.32 ERA and 4.14 FIP acro s 23 starts with the Red Sox in 2022. Though at the time it was easy to wonder if Wacha would regre s back to the 4.62 ERA he had posted from 2016-2021, he managed to build upon his 2022 with an even stronger 2023 season. In 24 starts (134 1/3 innings), Wacha posted a 3.22 ERA that was 27% better than league average by ERA+ with a 3.89 FIP and a 22.4% strikeout rate. Given that improvement, its something of a surprise that the club would decline to retain Wacha on what would have effectively been a two-year, $32MM pact, particularly with now slated to join in departing San Diego for the open market. Indeed, a revealed that nearly 44% of respondents expected the Padres to pick up Wachas options, a total that edges out the 39% of respondents who suggested that Wacha would return to the open market this offseason. Of course, its nece sary to consider the financial component of the move. After all, the Padres seem to be facing this offseason that could require them to pare payroll down to . The departures of Lugo and Martinez, along with the clubs decision to decline Wachas option, have cut the clubs payroll for 2024 to just over $197MM, per . Should Wacha decline his option as expected, that would drop the figure to just under $191MM. That could allow the club to avoid more drastic changes to cut payroll, such as a of star left fielder . Of course, a payroll of $200MM would allow them just $9MM of room in the budget to replace three of the clubs regular rotation members and their top depth option for the starting staff, to say nothing of the lo s of closer or potential upgrades to the lineup. If the Padres hope to patch the holes in their pitching staff and fine-tune their position player group, it seems reasonable to expect additional moves to trim the clubs payroll. As for Wacha, he appears poised to join a free agent market thats in starting pitching options. While he wont compete at the top of the market alongside the likes of , Snell, and , Wacha will add another interesting mid-rotation option to a group that already includes the likes of Lugo, , , and in the event that he decides to decline his player option and test the open market. Dave Kingman Jersey