Padres designate struggling RHP for assignment

Pedro Avila.

The Padres announced that they have recalled left-hander Adrián Morejón from Triple-A El Paso, with right-hander Pedro Avila designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

Avila, now 27, has bounced on and off the Padres’ roster over the years. Initially acquired from the Nationals in the 2016 trade that sent Derek Norris to Washington, Avila was added to the 40-man roster in November of 2018. At the end of 2019, he was non-tendered and re-signed to a minor league deal. He got his roster spot back in October of 2021 but was outrighted in June of 2022 before getting selected to the roster yet again a few months later in November.

Amid all of those transactions, Avila spent much of his time on optional assignment. He has pitched in parts of five major league seasons but only has 71 2/3 innings to his name at the big league level. 50 1/3 of those came last year, as he put up a 3.22 earned run average for the Friars. His 11.4% walk rate last year was on the high side but he managed to punch out 24.5% of batters faced while getting grounders on 58.8% of balls in play.

Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to carry those results over into 2024, at least in the early going. He’s thrown eight innings this year with eight earned runs having come around to score. He struck out nine batters but also walked eight.

Over his years as a Padre, Avila has burned through all of his options and can’t be removed from the active roster without also being removed from the 40-man. The Friars will now have a week to trade him or pass him through waivers. If he were to pass through waivers unclaimed, he would have the right to elect free agency by virtue of having a previous career outright.

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