Tapia made San Diego’s season-opening roster and pitched to a respectable 3.57 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 14/12 K/BB ratio across 17 2/3 innings (15 appearances) prior to being ousted from the club’s 40-man roster back in late July. The hard-throwing righty reliever might be able to latch on somewhere this offseason on a minor league pact with an invitation to spring training.

Tapia went unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment last week and will presumably stick around with San Diego as extra relief depth.

Tapia was demoted to Triple-A earlier this month after posting a 3.57 ERA in 17 2/3 innings for the Padres. He’s always had a big arm, so he might get claimed on waivers.

Tapia heads back to the minors with the Padres bringing up a couple fresh arms ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Angels.