LOS ANGELES -- The first time Joe Wieland pitched in a major league game was at Dodger Stadium, on April 14, 2012. He took the loss, thanks in large part to a pair of home runs in the first two innings by Matt Kemp. Now the two are traded for each other, on opposite ends of a five-player deal between the Dodgers and Padres, which will be official at some point soon.
Wieland allowed three home runs in that game - Andre Ethier hit the other one - and six runs in his five innings. Wieland would lose his first four starts, the longest streak to start a career since Ben Hendrickson lost his first six appearances in 2004.
After his fifth start, Wieland was placed on the disabled list with a right elbow strain, an injury that ultimately required Tommy John surgery that July. Wieland missed the entire 2013 season, though he did pitch two one-inning relief appearances in November that year in the Arizona Fall League.
Wieland needed another surgery in March 2014, an arthroscopic procedure to repair an impingement and remove loose bodies in his right elbow, per Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union Tribune. That extended his rehab even further, and his first time back on a mound was July 19 in the Arizona rookie league.
After six weeks in the minors - from rookie level to Double-A and Triple-A - with a 3.03 ERA and a combined 36 strikeouts and just six walks in 38⅔ innings, Wieland was called up back to the majors in September. Wieland pitched in four games, including two starts, for the Padres and put up a 7.15 ERA, with eight strikeouts, five walks and three home runs in 11⅓ innings.
Three years ago, Wieland was rated the Padres' No. 7 prospect by Baseball America, who also said he had the best control of any pitcher in the system.
Wieland has walked a miniscule 4.4 percent of hitters in his minor league career, and in his brief time in the majors has walked 8.1 percent of hitters (7.0 percent without counting intentional walks), roughly matching the National League average of 7.8 percent from 2012-2014.
Baseball Prospectus tabbed Wieland as the No. 74 prospect in baseball before the 2012 season as well.
But now Wieland is three years older, with 85 total innings logged in the last three years. He'll turn 25 in January.
He has two years, 161 days of service time, and last week avoided salary arbitration with the Padres, signing a one-year deal worth $590,000. Wieland has two option years remaining, having used one in 2014.
Wieland figures to give the Dodgers depth, and I imagine will likely be a part of the rotation in Triple-A Oklahoma City.