The Padres activated right-hander Jeremiah Estrada from the injured list ahead of Wednesday’s 1:10 p.m. start against the Colorado Rockies, giving the Padres one more true reliever to use in a game that will be started by left-hander Kyle Hart.
Matt Waldron will not be among the options available to pitch behind Hart as the knuckleballer was designated for assignment.
The Padres have a week to trade, waive or outright Waldron to Triple-A El Paso.
Waldron has a 7.16 ERA in 32⅔ innings in the majors this year and a 5.19 ERA over parts of four years with the Padres. A 16-start stretch (3.05 ERA) was crucial in keeping the Padres rotation afloat long enough to make a postseason run in 2024, but Waldron has struggled to rediscover that consistency and is out of minor league options.
Estrada (2-2, 3.48 ERA) appeared in three rehab games over the last week with Triple-A El Paso ahead of Wednesday’s activation. He last pitched in the majors on June 2 before right knee inflammation sent him to the injured list.
The Padres were off Monday. They needed just three relievers to follow Michael King’s six innings in Tuesday’s win.
That seemingly has the team well positioned for “pitching chaos” to unfold behind Hart as the team looks to extend a four-game winning streak.
Wednesday matinee. pic.twitter.com/BTZCusKs18
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) July 29, 2026
Hart will start the game, positioning Griffin Canning to follow in some capacity as he did the last time his spot came up in the rotation.
Hart will be pitching for the first time since following Germán Márquez on July 24. He also pitched on July 23 ahead of Canning, who is 1-9 with a 6.97 ERA in 15 games (11 starts).
Hart (0-2, 5.21 ERA) has a 3.00 ERA in two starts this year (3 IP, 1 ER) and a 5.40 ERA in 35 innings in relief. He’s allowing righties a .597 OPS and lefties a .782 OPS, and has allowed three runs in 5⅔ innings this year to the Rockies.
Here’s how he’s fared against current Rockies:
Canning has a 4.58 ERA in three career starts against the Rockies, but he has not faced them since 2024.
Only four Rockies have history with Canning:
SS Ezequiel Tovar (2-for-5, 3B, RBI, K, SF)
OF Jake McCarthy (0-for-4, BB)
INF Eduard Julien (1-for-4)
OF Tyler Freeman (0-for-2)
Rockies right-hander Gabriel Hughes (0-2, 2.79 ERA), a 24-year-old rookie, was the 10th overall pick out of Gonzaga in 2022. He’ll be making his fourth start and fifth appearance in the majors, topping out at six innings and 94 pitches. Hughes had a 5.31 ERA in 40⅔ innings this year at Triple-A Albuquerque.
Because he debuted this year, the Padres don’t have anyone with history in the majors with Hughes.
Here is how the Rockies will line up behind Hughes:
Here is our lineup! pic.twitter.com/CwRowCxzqk
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) July 29, 2026