Alek Jacob: Everything you need to know

The Padres optioned Jacob to Triple-A El Paso on Friday. He's clearing out to make room on the roster for Matt Waldron, who will start Friday's game versus the Angels after being activated from the injured list. Jacob had just been recalled earlier this week and turned in a scoreless outing in his lone appearance out of the bullpen.

The Padres recalled Jacob from Triple-A El Paso on Tuesday. In a corresponding move Tuesday, the Padres placed Nick Pivetta (elbow) on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to April 13. Jakob had begun the 2026 season with Triple-A El Paso, where he has notched a 0.00 ERA and 0.99 WHIP through 7.1 innings across five appearances.

San Diego optioned Jacob to Triple-A El Paso on Saturday. Jacob tossed a career-high 33.1 regular-season innings with the Padres in 2025, posting a 5.13 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 23:14 K:BB over 33.1 innings across 29 appearances. The righty reliever has a 6:2 K:BB through 3.2 frames this spring but has also given up a pair of runs. Jacob will start the campaign with El Paso, though he could be an option to fill a big-league bullpen spot at some point if the need arises.