Padres Must Readdress High-Leverage Innings This Offseason

[Randy Holt]

As far as individual components of the roster go, the San Diego Padres' bullpen remains in good shape. There are some departures that must be confronted, but if you were to throw this particular group on a field tomorrow, they could get you to the end of a game.

Nevertheless, those departures do, in fact, leave gaps that will need to be at least mildly addressed this winter. Notably, the team will have to figure out a way to navigate the innings vacated by the (assumed) departures of Adrian Morejon & Jason Adam.

Morejon threw 72.1 innings for the Padres in 2026. Adam worked his way through multiple trips to the injured list to throw 34 frames. Of Morejon's heavy volume, only 9.1 of those innings came prior to the seventh. Everything else came in the seventh, eighth, ninth, or extra innings. Adam threw only one-third of an inning prior to the seventh when he was healthy. That's a great deal of coverage in late-game situations to be accounted for. 

In general, the Padres can handle some of it. Mason Miller still has the ninth inning. Bradgley Rodríguez had an exceptional season (2.19 ERA) and should be in line to cover Adam's usage as a right-handed set-up man, at minimum. Jeremiah Estrada only totaled 28 innings in 2026 but 20.2 were in innings seven through nine. If he's not traded and if he's healthy, he'll be in the mix as well. Realistically, David Morgan has enough upside to be considered, too. 

Point being, there is personnel here that can handle those high-leverage spots. However, each comes with varying degrees of questions around health or performance. And there's one hitch to all of it in covering the leverage innings: none of them throws left-handed. 

The magic of Adrian Morejon is that he isn't a specialist. However, he is still a lefty and an elite one at that. Meaning that— assuming he does not accept a qualifying offer and the Padres don't sign him to a new deal—they lack that dynamic left-handed presence that he offered in those leverage innings. As things stand now, you'd be looking at either of Yuki Matsui or Wandy Peralta serving such a role. While each is fine in a vacuum, neither brings a skill set you're eager to deploy when games are tight.

Not that it's only a left-handed arm you're looking for here; plenty of Morejon's value was derived out of the fact that he could handle hitters of each handedness. As such, the leverage options in relief will still need to be addressed even if not at the scale of other needs on the roster.

Outside of Morejon, the free-agent market isn't terribly appealing. These kinds of bullpen arms cost a pretty penny via trade, as well. But whether it's a pure lefty or someone who can be deployed in any situation or versus any type of opposition, the Padres have to augment their relief corps in same shape or form this winter.

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