Before Wednesday’s series finale (6:40 p.m. on Padres.TV), the Padres officially cut ties with catcher Martín Maldonado and outrighted infielder Tyler Wade to Triple-A El Paso.

Both were designated for assignment as the Padres managed their active roster following the trade deadline.

The 38-year-old Maldonado was hitting .204/.245/.327 with four homers and 12 RBIs in 64 games, with his most significant contributions coming on the catching side of the equation.

Maldonado is a .203/.277/.343 hitter across parts of 15 years in the majors.

Wade, 30, was hitting .206/.309/.252 across 127 plate appearances in this second year with the Padres. The season began with the Padres designating him for assignment and outrighting Wade to Triple-A El Paso after he cleared waivers.

Wade had the option to seek a new team in free agency in March and opted to stick with the Padres, as was the case this time as well.

Wade hit .321/.406/.321 in six games with Triple-A El Paso when a rash of injuries in April opened the door for a return to the big-league team.

The Padres (63-51) could pull to within two games of the Dodgers in the NL West with a win, as Los Angeles lost a matinee to St. Louis. They’ve also pulled ahead of the Mets (63-52), losers of four straight, to take over as the NL’s second wild-card team, 3½ games behind the Cubs (66-48).

The Padres will have to make their move on Wednesday without Fernando Tatis Jr., who is out of the lineup for the first time since June 7 as the Padres rotate their new pieces.

Ramón Laureano will remain in left field but will serve as the No. 2 hitter in a Tatis-less behind first baseman Luis Arraez.

Ryan O’Hearn will slot into right field for the first time as a Padre and will hit fifth. O’Hearn has started at DH once and first base once.

Xander Bogaerts will serve as the DH, Jose Iglesias will get the start at shortstop and Freddy Fermin will get the start behind the plate.

Here is how Arizona will line up for the series finale:

 

Wednesday’s pitching matchup

Padres LHP Nestor Cortes (1-1, 9.00 ERA)

He’s making his Padres debut after coming over in a trade with the Brewers last week. It’s also his first since an elbow flexor strain sent him to the injured list. Cortes threw 93 pitches over 5⅔ innings in his final rehab start on July 24. Cortes lost his lone start against the Diamondbacks last year, allowing three runs in five innings.

Here is how Cortes has fared against current D-backs:

D-backs RHP Anthony DeSclafani (1-2, 4.91 ERA)

The 35-year-old signed with the Diamondbacks in mid-June after opting out of a minor league deal with the Yankees. He allowed four runs in 2⅓ innings in a start on Aug. 1 and has maxed out at four innings out of the bullpen. DeSclafani allowed two runs in 2⅓ innings out of the bullpen against the Padres on June 15, but he has a 2.88 ERA in 59⅓ career innings against San Diego.

Here is how DeSclafani has fared against current Padres:

Originally Published: August 6, 2025 at 4:40 PM PDT