Jhony Brito Should Have A Defined Role Upon His Return to Padres' Pitching Staff

With Joe Musgrove demanding much of the attention as a key member of the San Diego Padres returning from major surgery early in 2026, it's easy to forget that he isn't the only one on the team's pitching staff set to do so. Jhony Brito underwent internal brace surgery for his UCL back in May, indicating that he could be back within the first couple of months of the upcoming year. For a pitching-starved team like San Diego, it's hard to imagine he won't carve out a role quickly upon his return. The role itself, however, is up in the air. 

Brito was one of the four players that A.J. Preller acquired when he sent Juan Soto to the Bronx, along with Michael King, Drew Thorpe, and Kyle Higashioka. Thorpe wasn't long for the roster as he was flipped for now-former Padre Dylan Cease, while Higashioka left in free agency at the end of that year. With King now back under contract in San Diego, he and Brito represent the only chance for the team to make good on that deal.

There was not a point at which we saw Brito throw a pitch for the 2025 Padres, even before the surgery. His last action came back in 2024, when he logged nearly 44 innings at the big-league level and another 14 in Triple-A. His work at the top level came exclusively in relief, with 26 appearances to a 4.12 ERA and 3.72 FIP. His fastball, averaging 96.3 MPH, sat in the 84th percentile. Most of Brito's appearances that year were of the multi-inning variety. And that's an important part in determining what his role could be.

Brito had plenty of work as a starter prior to the 2024 season. He made 20 starts between the minor and major leagues in 2023 and 23 starts in 2022. The results were generally fine, but fell off quite a bit when serving as a starter. His career ERA in 52 2/3 innings as a starter in Major League Baseball sits at 6.32; he's at a 2.88 ERA in 81 1/3 innings in relief. While he's never posted gaudy strikeout numbers, his combination of velocity, command (5.2 BB% in 2024), and groundball contact (48.3 GB%) each make him an enticing option in relief for this particular Padres team. 

The team, in its current form, has some options in long relief. Kyle Hart could serve such a role. So, too, could any combination of winter signing Ty Adcock or Triston McKenzie, the latter of whom is on a minor-league deal. None of that trio, however, offers the upside we've seen Brito flash in his brief time serving such a role. Hart was knocked around and shuttled between the top two levels in 2025, Adcock presents some command issues, and McKenzie is coming off a multi-year struggle that included a velocity dip wrought by health issues. Brito's skill set would help to contribute to an effective bridge between starting pitchers and a elite group of late-inning relievers. Given that, it's hard to imagine Brito serving any role outside of exactly the one in which we've already seen him. 

To say nothing of his health in all of this. Even if the team wanted Brito and his remaining years of team control to transition back onto the starting side — something that would only be a consideration given the relative shallowness of the entire starting operation in the short term — they wouldn't immediately transition him into such a position. Assuming a return at the early end of a recovery timeline (May), he'd likely be inserted into exactly the type of role in which we should expect to see him. 

As such, that multi-inning relief role in which we last saw Jhony Brito is also going to be his best path toward contributing to the 2026 Padres. The aforementioned lack of depth on the starting side will make the multi-inning gig an essential one for this roster, even when assuming more additions to the rotation are on the way. Brito has the skill set to succeed there above all other options, and it's hard to imagine the team would be inclined to let him ply his trade in any role but that upon his return.