Padres promote relief option they stole from Cubs for MLB debut

Ahead of the San Diego Padres' doubleheader against the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday, the Friars are promoting a prospect to the big leagues.

26-year-old right-hander Eduarniel Nunez has been boosted to the major league roster, and is set to make his MLB debut. Nunez had spent the entirety of his pro career with the Chicago Cubs organization before electing for free agency this past winter.

The Padres signed him, and halfway through the 2025 season, Nunez is finally given his opportunity to pitch on the biggest stage.

Padres are calling up 26-year-old RHP Eduarniel Nunez to make his Major League debut, per source.

He was a free agent signing from the Cubs last winter after spending the 2017-24 seasons with Chicago.
— Kiley McDaniel (@kileymcd) July 2, 2025

Nunez has made 25 appearances this season, including 18 of them with Double-A San Antonio. In Double-A, Nunez logged two holds, two saves, and 38 strikeouts across 22 2/3 innings before his promotion to Triple-A.

In seven outings with Triple-A El Paso, Nunez struck out 11 batters in 7 1/3 scoreless frames, producing two saves and just one total hit allowed. In 30 total innings this year across two leagues, opponents batted just .176 against Nunez.

Several of the Padres' pitching farmhands have been dominant this past week, and Nunez is right there in the mix. Nunez is definitely basking in the opportunities presented to him this season with a new club. He was always a strikeout machine in the Cubs' circuit, but struggled with their Triple-A affiliate, which never gave him a direct route to the big leagues.

Now that Nunez is with a new organization, and is succeeding, his path to Major League Baseball looked much easier, especially with the constant pitching injuries. Logan Gillaspie getting designated for assignment this week also opened up a potential roster spot for a guy like Nunez. Now it's his chance to prove himself as the Padres are looking to dig themselves out of some recent mediocrity.

The Friars enter Wednesday sitting eight games back of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West standings, and losing four of their last seven games. Maybe Nunez can provide a refreshing spark to the team. If not, he could be sent back down following the doubleheader.

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