The Padres announced their closer
The 2026 San Diego Padres will look very different from their 2025 postseason squad. After losing to the Cubs in the Wild Card Round, the Padres lost Dylan Cease, Luis Arraez, Ryan O’Hearn and Robert Suarez in free agency.
All four players left a hole, although perhaps the one most easily filled is Suarez. The Padres bullpen has been a strength the past few seasons, and he has been one of the main reasons why. Since Josh Hader’s departure, Suarez moved into the closer role in the 2024 season and was an All-Star in both seasons as he accumulated 76 saves with a 2.87 ERA.
However, Suarez left in free agency as he signed a three-year, $45 million deal with the Atlanta Braves. His departure leaves the Padres with an opening in the closer role. Now, manager Craig Stammen has already indicated who that will be in 2026.
Mason Miller Announced as San Diego Padres Closer
As we move closer to Spring Training, Padres manager Craig Stammen announced that Mason Miller will be the team’s closer in the upcoming season. The Padres acquired Miller last season in a blockbuster trade with the Athletics. The Padres gave significant assets in the deal as they included shortstop Leo De Vries, who is MLB.com’s fourth-highest rated prospect.
With Miller, the Padres acquired one of the best arms in the sport, and he is under team control through the 2029 season. In 23.1 innings with San Diego last season, Miller had a 0.77 ERA with a 17.4 SO/9. In the postseason, Miller pitched 2.2 innings without giving up a run or a hit, as he struck out eight batters.
There had been speculation whether Mason Miller could be converted into a starting pitcher, as he started his career off that way. When asked about the possibility of Mason Miller or Adrian Morejon starting, manager Craig Stammen said, “I don’t know if they’re going to be starting, relieving, closing, but they’re going to be a big part of our success and they’re going to pitch as many innings as we can get them to pitch.”
Padres Starting Rotation
With the closer role settled and Mason Miller staying in the bullpen, the biggest question mark remaining with the Padres is the starting rotation. The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Kevin Acee reported that the Padres were likely going to sign a veteran free agent pitcher, but he specified that it would be a cheap deal. That likely ruled out the possibility of signing All-Star pitcher Zac Gallen, who had been linked with the organization.
The team’s rotation currently includes: Michael King, Joe Musgrove, Nick Pivetta and Randy Vásquez. King re-signed with the Padres this offseason after an injury-riddled 2025 saw him pitch less than 100 innings. Musgrove missed the entire season as he suffered an injury in the 2024 playoffs. Pivetta was the Padres’ ace last season as he had a 2.87 ERA in 31 starts. It is hard to be sure of what Vásquez will be as he had a solid 3.84 ERA, but previous manager Mike Shildt did not allow him to pitch deep in games and Baseball Savant had his xERA at 5.37, meaning he might have been lucky with his actual results.
Jose Esquer Jose Esquer is a Mexican-American sportswriter and communications student based in San Diego, CA. His work spans football, basketball, baseball, and soccer. He has written for platforms like RotoWire and DolphinsTalk. You can find him on Twitter/X @JEsquer8, usually talking Dolphins, world football, or both. More about Jose Esquer
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