It’s not impossible that San Diego Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller will use the quality and quantity of his bullpen to acquire needed roster pieces before the season begins but he has stated his reluctance to weaken the team’s biggest strength.
The inflated player prices this offseason have made it more difficult for Preller to round out the Padres roster. The budget constraints of the organization seemingly imply that the biggest expense was re-signing starter Michael King. With what is left, the bargain bin is the most likely place to find the rotation help and another bat that Preller has repeatedly said he is looking to sign before the season.
The real question is if there is enough cash left in the budget to sign these additions without losing anyone from the current roster. So far, Preller has stayed true to his statement at the GM meetings where he voiced a desire to not lose any of his bullpen in the trade market.
The Padres 2025 bullpen finished the season with the best ERA in baseball at 3.06. The loss of closer Robert Suarez should not seriously affect this group as Mason Miller, ranked the No. 2 reliever in baseball by MLB Network, assumes that role. Jason Adam, with his 1.93 ERA last year, served as the setup man for much of the season and should again be considered the leader for that role when he returns from his season-ending ruptured quad tendon.
Behind those two dominant pitchers, the Padres have an embarrassment of riches in their bullpen. Assuming they go into the 2026 season with five starters and eight relievers, there are only six spots available to fill out the rest of the bullpen.
Options for six spots
From the current roster, both the 40-man and the non-roster invitees who are in camp, the Padres have at least 18 pitchers to fill those six roles. From that group, only Ron Marinaccio is out of options and will have to be placed on waivers if he doesn’t make the 26-man roster.
The Padres signed RHP’s Sean Boyle, Evan Fitterer and Justin Yeager to minor league contracts with invites to Spring Training. Yeager is a confirmed reliever but both Boyle and Fitterer could be used as starters and have starter histories. Of the system’s minor league relievers invited to camp, RHP Manuel Castro, RHP Francis Pena, RHP Ethan Routzhan and RHP Ryan Och all showed the stuff that got the attention of the organization and earned them an invite to major league camp. Both Castro and Pena could be close to being added to the roster during the coming season. All of these are probable to start the season in the minor leagues.
RHP Logan Gillaspie, who was a minor league pickup in 2023, has had an inconsistent career with four different organizations and was re-signed to a minor league contract with the Padres in 2024. Between injuries and poor performances, Gillaspie has stayed with the organization and gets another chance this season to take a step forward. He got a spring invite after being retained following the end of 2025.
Who makes the 26-man roster?
On the 40-man roster there are 13 relievers to compete for those six slots in the bullpen. RHP Jhonny Brito will not be ready to start the season due to his Tommy John surgery last season. He is likely to be available by mid-season. Whether he is brought back as a starter or reliever has not been discussed to this point.
The Padres signed right-handers Ty Adcock and Daison Acosta to major league contracts during the offseason. Acosta was with the Nationals organization last season but has not made his major league debut. Adcock, who pitched in three games and three innings for the Mets last season, signed with the Padres and pitched for Estrellas Orientales (Dominican Winter League) during the offseason.
RHP Garret Hawkins was added to the roster to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft during the offseason and is most likely starting the season with San Antonio or El Paso and would be a depth piece for the bullpen during 2026.
That leaves long-man/swing-man Bryan Hoeing to come back after an injury-riddled 2025 to reclaim his spot. His competition could be Adcock or Marinaccio who was a limited contributor last season but had a 0.84 ERA in his 10.2 innings pitched. Lefty Kyle Hart will begin by competing for a starting job. If that role does not go to him, he would also be a competitor for the long-man role with Hoeing, Adcock and Marinaccio.
The five remaining spots will be a battle between Jeremiah Estrada, Alek Jacob, Yuki Matsui, Adrian Morejon, Wandy Peralta, David Morgan and Bradgley Rodriguez. Adcock, Hoeing, Hart or Marinaccio could also be in competition as only one of them can win the swing-man or long-man job.
Estrada, Morejon, Morgan and Peralta have all pitched in high-leverage situations while Matsui, Jacob and Rodriguez can cover the middle innings. Rodriguez also has the potential for a late-inning role with his stuff. MLB Network recently listed their top 10 relievers in baseball. The Padres had Miller, Morejon and Adam all make that list. It would seem a lock for Morejon to keep his spot as a high-leverage reliever along with Adam and Miller.
Spring Training will tell the tale
Many say that six weeks is too long for Spring Training. That could be true for hitters, most of whom say that three to four weeks is plenty to get ready for a season. The six weeks is for the pitching staff to be ready. With the big decisions that this organization has to make with its pitching staff, both starters and relievers, the next six weeks will be fascinating to watch. Add to that the time that the World Baseball Classic cuts into the preparation, and those decisions will be even more interesting.
Look for all the borderline pitchers to get lots of looks during spring games. Matsui, Peralta and Miller will be gone for the duration of their WBC teams’ participation in the tournament. Miller for Team USA, Matsui for Samurai Japan and Peralta for the Dominican Republic.
Figuring out who makes this bullpen will be a great challenge for the staff. The fans can play along and see how close we get.
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