As the San Diego Padres continue to make a playoff push, they have decided to dip their toes into the free agency waters by signing recently released pitcher Jake Arrieta.

Arrieta had been with the Cubs this year and was pitching miserably. In 20 starts with Chicago, Arrieta was 5-11 with a horrific 6.88 ERA. In his last game with the Cubs, he lasted just 4 innings against the Brewers, yielding 11 hits and 8 runs. The righty gave up 5 or more runs in 7 of his 20 starts with Chicago this year.

It seems like a somewhat odd add for the Padres even though they could use a boost in the pitching department. San Diego had been rumored to have landed Max Scherzer at the MLB Trade Deadline before the Los Angeles Dodgers swooped in and took Scherzer and Trea Turner. It left the Padres scratching at leftovers.

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Perhaps the idea for the Padres is to work Arrieta out of the bullpen instead of in the rotation given his lack of success this year as a starter.

The Padres just got Fernando Tatis Jr. back from injury on Sunday and he came back by hitting two home runs in a win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. It was a much needed boost to a team that had been fizzling. While San Diego is 10 games back of the San Francisco Giants in the NL West, they still hold down the second wild card spot in the National League at the moment.

If the playoffs started today, it would be the Dodgers against the Padres in the wild card matchup. San Diego is hoping Arrieta can provide some effective results with the signing on Monday.