Padres option Steven Wilson to Triple-A to make room for Tim Hill

The San Diego Padres announced earlier today that they’re activating Tim Hill from the 15-day IL and optioning Steven Wilson to Triple-A El Paso.

Have you ever seen a move the Padres have made that kind of come out of nowhere? This one fits under this category for me because I’d almost forgotten about Tim Hill.

The 32-year-old was placed on the IL on May 7 with left shoulder inflammation after starting off 2022 with an 11.12 ERA in nine games. Who knows how much that shoulder played into his rough start.

As for Wilson being sent down, this one was also a surprising move because he was one of Bob Melvin’s more reliable relievers so far this season despite blowing the game last Saturday when Ryan Christenson was the interim manager. After all, this is his rookie season and he’s showed that he can positively impact the Padres at the big league level, pitching to a 3.38 ERA in the month of April.

I thought the Padres would’ve sent down Sergio Alcantara if any move was made because he isn’t really being used in any other roles other than as a pinch hitter or pinch runner. However, it makes sense for a pitcher to replace a pitcher on the roster.