Padres pitcher could miss opening day after undergoing hemorrhoid surgery

San Diego Padres pitcher Matt Waldron could begin the season on the disabled list after being hospitalized for several days and undergoing hemorrhoid surgery to deal with an infection, manager Craig Stammen told reporters Tuesday.

Stammen said the 29-year-old pitcher is expected to be released soon, but that will depend on the healing process.

San Diego Padres pitcher Matt Waldron throws a pitch against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on June 30, 2025. (Eric Hartline/Image Images)

“He had an infection in his butt and had to have surgery to drain it and make it better,” Stammen said, via the San Diego Union-Tribune. “…He’ll be out week to week, depending on how that incision heals and how he feels moving.”

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Stammen said Waldron was in very good shape before the injury, and that in his only spring training start his velocity was up and his knuckleball was working. In that start, he pitched two scoreless innings and struck out two batters.

San Diego Padres pitcher Matt Waldron poses during spring training photo day in Peoria, Arizona, on February 18, 2026. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Imagn Images)

Waldron, selected in the 18th round of the 2019 MLB Draft, made one major league appearance in 2025, pitching 4.2 innings and allowing four earned runs while striking out three batters and walking six. In Triple-A last season, he had a 6.67 ERA in 18 starts and 82.1 innings.

Waldron has appeared in 36 games in three seasons, all with the Padres. He has an 8-15 record with a 4.86 ERA in 192.2 innings in the major leagues.

San Diego Padres pitcher Matt Waldron has appeared in 36 games in three seasons, all with the Padres. (Eric Hartline/Image Images)

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With Waldron out, pitchers Randy Vásquez, Walker Buehler, Germán Márquez, JP Sears, Triston McKenzie and Marco Gonzales must compete for the final two spots in the Padres’ starting rotation.

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