The most pressing task on the Padres offseason to-do list (other than potentially finding a new owner) is stocking up on pitching. Starters are the priority but bullpen arms will not be turned away at the door. On Monday, San Diego added a guy who could potentially fill either role.
The Friars are bringing back lefty Kyle Hart on a one year, $1 million deal that includes a $2.5 million club option for 2027. Hart came to San Diego before the 2025 season after a stellar run in the Korean Baseball Organization that saw him win the KBO’s version of the Cy Young Award. The plan at the time was to have Hart compete for a spot in the starting rotation.
As things often do in baseball, the plan changed.
Hart struggled as a starter and spent most of the season at Triple-A El Paso. Towards the end of the year the Friars brought him up and let him try things out of the bullpen, where the results were dramatically better. Take a look at these splits:
STARTER
25.2 IP
17 K
.891 OPS allowed
RELIEVER
17.1 IP
20 K
.494 OPS allowed
Hart’s velocity ticked up as a reliver and his sweeper, the pitch he deploys most often, was more effective. The question now is, which route will the Padres ask Hart to take in 2026? He could take what he learned as a reliever and see if he can apply it in the starting rotation. Or, they might like what they saw well enough to make him a full-time bullpen weapon, which could free up someone like Adrian Morejon or Mason Miller to try and transition back to a starter’s role.
Either way the Padres are still going to have to add at least two or three more starting pitchers before Spring Training begins. With Michael King and Dylan Cease hitting free agency and Yu Darvish out for the year recovering from elbow surgery, only Nick Pivetta, Joe Musgrove, and Randy Vasquez are slated for rotation spots.