Status of the Padres bullpen

The San Diego Padres enter the condensed free agent season before the expiration of the current CBA with multiple holes in their starting rotation. The five-day exclusive window for negotiating with pending free agents expired along with the deadline for setting each team’s 40-man roster on today.

Then the real fun begins with all free agents open to negotiate with any team they choose and deciding if they want to sign before the CBA expires or take their chances with the status of the game after the new contract is signed.

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Bullpen losses 

The news on Oct. 30 was the first blow to the Padres bullpen. Bullpen coach Ben Fritz, a member of the Padres coaching staff since 2015, was hired away by the Arizona Diamondbacks to be their pitching coach.

Fritz was the bullpen coach under Larry Rothschild until Rothschild’s firing in 2021. He assumed the primary job for the remainder of that season and then became the bullpen coach again when Ruben Niebla was hired prior to the 2022 season.

As the shepherd of one of the best bullpens in baseball over the past several seasons, the Padres gave Fritz a big raise last offseason to keep him on staff. He had reportedly been targeted by several other teams as their pitching coach.

LHP Adrián Morejón is a free agent. The Padres’ closer, Mason Miller, acknowledged Morejón’s value to the bullpen, saying he believed he was the most valuable reliever in MLB. In an article by Dennis Lin in The Athletic on Sept. 14, Miller stated, “He’s the most valuable reliever on our team and, I would argue, in baseball too.” 

It remains to be seen if the Padres can offer the reliever a contract that will keep him in San Diego. His projected value, which ranges from 3 years and $42 million by Jim Bowden (The Athletic) to 5 years and $90 million by Joel Reuter (Bleacher Report), might not be in the budget for the Friars due to the lack of starting arms on the roster. 

Morejón has stated on multiple occasions his desire to stay with the Padres but team-friendly free agent deals are mostly nonexistent in modern baseball. If the team can come up with a creative deal to keep Morejón, A.J. Preller will need to keep the top priority on the starting rotation.

Keeping Hart, Matsui, Peralta and Estrada

The Padres got very lucky when LHP Yuki Matsui opted to remain with the team. He had a player option to make himself a free agent but decided to accept his $6.5 million salary for 2027 and has another option in 2028. 

After signing with the Padres before the 2024 season, Matsui posted a 3.86 ERA over the first two seasons with the team. Coming to MLB after dominating as a closer in Japan, Matsui was unable to replicate that success. He pitched well but wasn’t able to repeat his dominance. Making some adjustments to his pitch arsenal before the 2026 season, Matsui went back to featuring his slider and improved his effectiveness. In 64 innings of relief, Matsui lowered his ERA to 1.83 without a significant change in walk or strikeout rates. 

By staying in the fold, Matsui saves the Padres the need to find a high-leverage replacement for the 31-year-old lefty.

LHP Kyle Hart had an up-and-down 2026. He had stretches of valuable effectiveness and a few blow-up appearances. He finished the season with a 4.92 ERA in 64 innings pitched. The Padres exercised his $2.5 million team option, keeping the 34-year-old in the bullpen for the 2027 season. This most likely represents the team’s need to keep the bullpen as intact as possible for the next season. His salary is reasonable for a pitcher who can pitch at any point in a game and for more than one inning.

LHP Wandy Peralta opted in for the third and final time in his four-year contract with the Padres. He signed a 4-year, $16.5 million deal before the 2024 season and has a sub-4 ERA with the Padres for his time in the bullpen. In 2026, he finished with a 3.61 ERA in 77.1 innings. Peralta was left off the postseason roster after losing effectiveness at the end of the season. 

RHP Jeremiah Estrada is arbitration-eligible for the first time this offseason. He will need to be offered a contract by Nov. 20 for his first opportunity at arbitration. His 2026 season was injury-marred, and that will probably affect the offer he gets for his first contract year.

Only throwing 31 innings for the year, Estrada finished with a 3.48 ERA. He had both shoulder and leg injuries that limited his availability and effectiveness. 

Arbitration-eligible 

Closer Mason Miller is in his second year of arbitration eligibility and stands to earn a big raise from his $4 million 2026 salary. After posting 38 saves and a 1.67 ERA in 70 innings pitched, Miller is projected to earn $8.1 million, according to MLB TradeRumors.

RHP Bryan Hoeing, who again spent most of the season on the injured list with flexor tendon surgery,  is projected to be offered $0.8 million in arbitration. He should be healthy to start 2027.

RHP Jhony Brito is arbitration-eligible and is projected to be offered $0.8 million for 2027. He spent part of 2026 on the injured list from his Tommy John surgery and then completed his rehab in time to log innings in El Paso and pitch nine innings for the Padres. He should be a contender for the either the bullpen or possibly as a starter in 2027.

The rest of the bullpen

RHP David Morgan, RHP Bradgley Rodriguez, RHP Hunter Stratton, and RHP Garret Hawkins are under contract and on the 40-man roster for the 2027 season. All should be in the running for bullpen spots when the 2027 spring camp begins. 

Other options

The status of Joe Musgrove is undetermined but it would be a big surprise if he isn’t in the mix for the starting rotation in 2027. Pitching three innings from the bullpen in the 2026 postseason showed that Musgrove can still pitch. The questions are about his ability to bounce back from his outings. His health will most likely be determined during the spring of 2027.

These 11 players will be joined by the pitchers signed by the organization during free agency or acquired by trade. There are also several minor league pitchers who could be added to the roster before being left available for the Rule 5 draft.

As it stands, the bullpen only lacks Morejón from the dominant bullpen seen in 2026. It should remain a strength for the 2027 Padres.

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