San Diego – President of Baseball Operations and General Manager A.J. Preller announced today that the San Diego Padres have signed right-handed pitcher Michael Wacha to a one-year contract for the 2023 season with player options for 2024, 2025, and 2026. A two-year club option for the 2024 and 2025 seasons is also included in the agreement.
In his 10th season in the major leagues, in 2022, Wacha (WAHK-uh), 31, made 23 starts for the Boston Red Sox and went 11-2 with a 3.32 ERA (47 ER, 127.1 IP). The right-hander, who is 6-6 and weighs 215 pounds, had a 2.61 ERA in his first 20 starts before giving up 14 runs in his last three appearances (13.1 innings). He had the lowest ERA among Red Sox starters (min. five appearances), and his 1.12 WHIP was second-best in his career only to his rookie season in 2013 (1.10 in 64.2 innings with St. Louis). The native of Jupiter, Florida, went at least 5.0 innings in 17 of his starts, including 6.0 innings or more in 10 of them, and the Red Sox went 16-7 in his 23 starts. He has now started more than 20 games six times, including the last three seasons with 162 games. With RISP, he kept left-handed batters to a.188 AVG/.598 OPS (37-for-197) and opponents to a.189 AVG/.549 OPS.
In 225 career Major League outings (204 starts) between the Cardinals (2013-19), New York Mets (2020), Tampa Bay Rays (2021), and Red Sox, the Texas A&M University graduate is 74-50 with a 4.05 ERA (519 ER, 1,153.2 IP). St. Louis selected him in the first round (19th overall) of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft. He was an All-Star in the National League in 2015 and made six Postseason starts and two appearances in relief, going 4-3 with a 5.21 ERA (22 ER, 38.0 IP). After going 2-0 with two scoreless starts against Clayton Kershaw (6.2 innings in Game 2 and 7.0 innings in Game 6), he became one of only four rookies to ever be named MVP of a League Championship Series during the Cardinals’ NL pennant-winning campaign in 2013. His 18.2 innings of scoreless innings against the Red Sox in the World Series continued.
Wacha will wear No. 52.
