The Phillies have signed right-hander Nicholas Padilla to a minor league contract, according to the transaction tracker on Padilla’s MLB.com player biography page. Padilla has modified his personal Instagram account to reflect his new team.
Padilla, 27, was a 13th-round pick by the Rays in 2015, but struggled in the lower minors as a starter before transitioning to relief in 2019. He pitched well in Single-A in 2019, his first full season out of the bullpen, with a 3.48 ERA and a 26.3% strikeout rate in 62 innings.
Padilla did not pitch during the cancelled minor league season in 2020 and was taken by the Cubs during the minor league phase of that year’s Rule 5 draft, therefore that was his final stint with the Rays.
The right-hander began his Cubs career at the High-A level in 2021, but only pitched 1 2/3 innings before being shelved by injury. Once he was healthy again in 2022, he quickly advanced through the lower levels. Padilla was promoted to Triple-A after dominating the High-A and Double-A levels early in the season, and he performed admirably in ten outings with the Iowa Cubs. Padilla struck out 28.8% of his opponents in 14 2/3 innings, producing a stellar 1.23 ERA. That was enough for the Cubs to give him a taste of major – action, as he was added to the roster and batted 27th in a doubleheader against the Cardinals.
But the big league cup of coffee only lasted one game. Padilla worked 1 2/3 innings for Chicago, allowing one run on two hits and two walks with one strikeout, but was slated for assignment just two weeks later. His Cubs career came to an end when he was grabbed off waivers by the crosstown White Sox, however he did not appear for them down the stretch after being optioned to Triple-A Charlotte.
Padilla made his debut on the south side in May 2023, although he only made three big league appearances that year, bouncing between Triple-A and the majors. His performance in the majors and minors was relatively disappointing, with a 5.79 ERA in 4 2/3 big league innings and a 5.52 ERA in 44 Triple-A outings that year. He was removed off the club’s roster in November, but he stayed with the club throughout the 2024 season. He had a 2.92 ERA and a 30.3% strikeout rate in 37 innings this year, but he did not make it to the major leagues and chose free agency earlier this winter.
Padilla will now join his fourth organization, hoping to make an impression in Philadelphia. Padilla provides the Phillies with a depth arm for their bullpen who can pitch several innings in relief, a job that could prove important given Spencer Turnbull’s departure in free agency earlier this month. Of course, the club’s up-and-coming young pitchers, including as Andrew Painter, Seth Johnson, and Mick Abel, could all fill that job, or possibly push veteran Taijuan Walker out of the rotation after a terrible 2024 season and into that extended relief role.
Given this, Padilla would most likely need to perform in Spring Training to secure a position on the 40-man roster or wait for injuries to open up room in the club’s bullpen throughout the 2025 season.
