The San Diego Padres have played two Cactus League games with many more to go before Opening Day in late March. Even with only two games played, the Friars have given fans plenty to think about.
As Spring Training continues the next few weeks, certain players have more to prove than others in order to make it onto the major league roster. Among these there are few with as much on the line as Matt Waldron.
The last of the knuckleballers
Apart from Waldron, there are no active pitchers using the knuckleball in MLB. After R.A. Dickey
retired in 2017, as well as Tim Wakefield in 2011, no one apart from Waldron has had any legitimate success with the pitch.
Part of this is due to the fact that the pitch, as unhittable as it is, is incredibly difficult for catchers to get their gloves on and for umpires to correctly call. Umps simply don’t know how to call the pitch well because of how much movement it has, and the catching situation is even more dire.
In 2024, Kyle Higashioka did most of the work behind the plate and managed to do a decent job of catching Waldron, but others have not done as well.
In his lone start of the 2025 season against the Philadelphia Phillies, Martín Maldonado caught for Waldron and allowed a passed ball and three wild pitches, leading to the Phillies scoring a run in the fourth inning.
Waldron used his knuckleball 74.0% of the time in his outing against Philly, much higher than the 38.2% average across the 2024 season.
The problem with the pitch is that if it’s not executed perfectly, batters will destroy it. And even if it is executed correctly there’s no guarantee the pitch will be called a strike, with umpires having difficulty calling the pitch accurately for Waldron throughout his career.
Struggles with settling in
Waldron has spent most of his career in the minors, but he spent significant time shuttling between the major and minor league clubs from 2023-25. His largest stint in the majors came in ‘24, making 26 starts for the Padres and helping them reach the postseason in October.
In those starts, he finished with a 4.91 ERA across 146 2/3 innings. While most pitchers struggle their second and third times through the lineup, Waldron had his biggest problems his first time through. His ERA through the first three innings was much higher than it was in innings four through six (4.62 compared to 3.36). In fact, he ended the season with a 7.88 ERA in the first inning alone.
Waldron’s problems settling in have hurt his resumé deeply, leading to a 6.48 ERA during the 2025 season spent in the San Diego minor league system. If Waldron can find a way to warm up sooner and settle in, he’ll be absolutely dominant with his unhittable knuckleball.
Saturday’s start
In the Padres 10-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Saturday, Waldron allowed only one walk and one single across two innings of work. In those innings, Waldron decreased his typical knuckleball usage from 46.3% (major league career average) to 33.0%, opting to use a more balanced pitch mix.
In the first inning, he faced four batters who all start for Kansas City’s major league ball club, getting Jonathan India and Bobby Witt Jr. to groundout before walking Vinnie Pasquantino. He ended the inning by striking out Salvador Perez.
In the second, he got Kyle Isbel to lineout and then gave up a single to Dairon Blanco. Waldron then caught Blanco stealing second base before striking out John Rave, ending his first game of the year.
If he can capitalize on this start to Cactus League play over the next few weeks, it would earn Waldron consideration for a backend spot in the Padres’ rotation and possibly revive his career.
Maybe he learns how to settle in sooner and is used in a swingman role who can take over the brunt of a game’s middle innings.
Whatever the case, Waldron is running out of time to prove his usefulness at the major league level. He’s out of options and, although it’s unlikely another club claims him off waivers, it’s always possible the Padres lose him for good.
