CLEVELAND — The 12-5 Cleveland Guardians made a move to bolster their bullpen on Wednesday by completing a trade with the the Padres for right-handed reliever Pedro Avila, sending cash consideration back to San Diego.
The 27-year-old reliever struggled in his four 2024 appearances so far, posting a 9.00 ERA, allowing six walks and eight earned runs in eight innings pitched. Avila was designated for assignment on April 12.
The Guardians hope Avila will return to last year's form when he posted a 3.22 ERA and 2-2 record across 14 appearances, striking out 54 batters in 50 1/3 innings pitched.
The addition of Avila will give the Guardians flexibility as they deal with multiple injuries in their starting rotation and bullpen. Avila both started and came out of the bullpen for San Diego in 2023.
Cleveland has transferred Angel Martinez to the 60-day injured list to make room for Avila on the 40-man roster. Avila is expected to join the team at some point this week.
Avila's pitching repertoire features a 94-mph fastball, sinker, curveball, sweeper and a changeup that causes a lot of swing and miss.