The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres have been making their case to be Major League Baseball’s premier rivalry over the last few years.

Though there isn’t the long-term history behind the rivalry that the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees have, the Dodgers and Padres have both been excellent in recent seasons, and they’ve traded plenty of barbs back and forth. If anything is dampening the rivalry right now, it may be that the Dodgers’ overall dominance has diminished the Padres as a perceived threat.

Los Angeles also has the financial might to sign pretty much any player it wants, and as free agency approaches, the bullpen looks like a very real need. That might set the stage for the Dodgers to pilfer one of the Padres’ top arms from recent years, and spark the rivalry in the process.

On Monday, Bleacher Report’s Tim Kelly predicted that the Dodgers would sign Padres two-time All-Star closer Robert Suarez to a two-year, $26 million deal with a $14 million club option for 2028.

“Considering president of baseball operations A.J. Preller acquired Mason Miller at the trade deadline and the Padres bullpen will return Adrián Morejón and Jason Adam (although he’s coming back from a ruptured left quad and may not be ready for Opening Day), San Diego will probably let Suarez walk in free agency,” wrote Kelly.

“That’s fine, there will be other contending teams happy to have him join their bullpen. The two-time defending World Series champion Dodgers, much to the chagrin of Padres fans, make quite a bit of sense for Suarez.”

This would be a familiar story, as the Dodgers signed former Padres All-Star left-hander Tanner Scott to a four-year, $72 million deal last year. That was the biggest deal any reliever got last offseason, and year one was a disaster, so there’s reason to wonder whether LA would think twice about a multi-year deal for another San Diego star.

However, there’s nuance there, as Suarez still projects to be a lot cheaper than Scott was, and he’s proven to be more consistent than Scott over the last few seasons, though he may not be as dominant at the two pitchers’ absolute peaks.

Padres fans would likely despise the sight of Suarez entering from the bullpen in Chavez Ravine next season, but those sorts of jersey swaps can add color to any heated rivalry.

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