3 San Diego Padres offseason additions we should already be concerned about

2) San Diego Padres pitcher Michael Wacha doesn't look like the answer in the back of the rotation

The Padres signed Michael Wacha to a four-year deal worth $26 million. It can max out at $42 million over the four years.

This was a bit questionable to me as Wacha is 31 years of age and while he might've had a solid ERA, the underlying numbers weren't quite as strong.

Wacha had a 3.32 ERA in 23 starts with the Red Sox which is good, but he had a 4.14 FIP and a 4.56 xERA last season which suggests he got pretty lucky. He had three brutal seasons from 2019-2021 pitching for the Cardinals, Mets, and Rays, before last season.

Wacha has made three starts for the Padres. One of them was great, as he pitched six scoreless innings and struck out 10 Braves. The other two starts haven't been good.

He began his season with a start at home against the Rockies. He went six innings which the Padres will take, but he allowed four runs on six hits with three walks and only two strikeouts. They can live with four runs in six innings, but that's not great against a bad Rockies team. Allowing six hits and walking three while only striking out two is not good.

His most recent start was the worst of the three by far. He had a tougher assignment facing the Brewers, but allowed seven runs on 11 hits in 4.1 innings of work. 11 hits in 4.1 innings is obviously unacceptable.

Wacha ranks in the ninth percentile in barrel rate, the 10th percentile in xSLG, and the 28th percentile in xBA according to baseball savant. Opponents have hit the ball pretty hard against the veteran right-hander. His slow start is concerning following a lucky 2022 and three poor seasons before that.