{"id":580713,"date":"2026-02-19T08:30:33","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T08:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/580713\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T08:30:33","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T08:30:33","slug":"bullpen-depth-may-lead-to-a-padres-trade-this-spring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/580713\/","title":{"rendered":"Bullpen depth may lead to a Padres trade this spring"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Credit: MiLB.com<\/p>\n

The San Diego Padres may very well trade from their depth in the bullpen this spring in an attempt to upgrade the roster.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A.J. Preller is a savvy GM.<\/p>\n

He is always looking for an angle. The Padres will trade their assets to improve the team.<\/p>\n

Right now, the best valued grouping of players on the team is the bullpen. Four members of the Padres\u2019 staff made the 2025 MLB All-Star team as relievers. Robert Suarez<\/a> has since left the team via free agency, but the coalition is still recognized as one of the best units in all of baseball.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Padres could easily trade a high-leverage reliever while replacing him internally.<\/p>\n

Some may balk at this idea, but if you examine the pitching staff right now, you see that it is conceivable. It really isn\u2019t necessary to have three or four high-leverage relievers on the roster. Especially if the offense is not capable of gaining the lead and utilizing them.<\/p>\n

In the 26-man roster, the Padres will likely carry seven relievers. One of the spots may be a sixth man in the rotation, depending on what the Padres want to do moving forward.<\/p>\n

Here is a look at the bullpen, as you see exactly why the Padres can afford to trade away a reliever.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The locks<\/p>\n

Mason Miller<\/a>, Adrian Morejon<\/a>, Jason Adam<\/a>, Jeremiah Estrada<\/a>, Yuki Matsui<\/a>, Wandy Peralta<\/a><\/p>\n

These are six men who will surely make the roster if they are healthy.<\/p>\n

All are being paid well, except for Estrada, who is still making league minimum this season before his arbitration years start. The Padres may elect to move Matsui or Peralta, as they both would save the Padres money now that could be utilized elsewhere. Each lefty provides value, but the Padres have Kyle Hart<\/a>, JP Sears<\/a>, and even Omar Cruz<\/a>, who could step in and fill the void left by dealing one of their southpaws.<\/p>\n

Morejon is in the last year of his contract, and the Padres would surely want to re-sign him. Jason Adam is also a free agent at the end of the 2026 season. Both men would like to be retained, but the Padres will need to open up the pocketbook to bring them back. Mason Miller is the rock in the bullpen and will not be moved unless the Padres are blown away.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The rest<\/p>\n

David Morgan<\/a>, Alek Jacob<\/a>, Bradgley Rodriguez<\/a>, Miguel Mendez<\/a>, Garrett Hawkins<\/a>, Matt Waldron<\/a>, Triston McKenzie<\/a>, Bryan Hoeing<\/a>, Kyle Hart<\/a>, JP Sears<\/a>, Ron Marinaccio,<\/a> Ty Adcock<\/a>, Daison Acosta<\/a><\/p>\n

This group of men does not include the losers of the battle for the fifth spot in the rotation. Walker Buehler<\/a>, German Marquez<\/a>, Marco Gonzalez<\/a>, and Griffin Canning<\/a> (though he is coming off an injury and will not be ready Opening Day) are options for that spot. Whoever loses this competition may be viable as a long reliever in the bullpen. The Padres may also carry six starting pitchers to begin the season.<\/p>\n

Out of the mix, Morgan, Hawkins, Mendez, and Rodriguez represent the youth. The Padres possess a few other minor leaguers who could emerge in 2026 and be viable bullpen pieces, but these four are the main focus right now. There is depth in the minor league system and arms that are capable. Don\u2019t believe the hype you hear from the national media about how the farm system is terrible.<\/p>\n

Several of the other men on this list are capable if given a shot. But they will need to emerge in the spring. Matt Waldron is out of minor league options and must make the major league team on Opening Day. That seems like a reach, so the knuckleballer is likely to be moved at some point. Triston McKenzie has shown dominance in the Major Leagues before, but is working his way back from injury.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The verdict<\/p>\n

San Diego will surely be active as Opening Day approaches. That is just in A.J. Preller\u2019s nature.<\/p>\n

The Padres may not have a glaring need on the roster, but Preller is never one to shy away from an upgrade. If the team can acquire an impact bat somewhere on the roster, they will pull the trigger. The same may be said for the starting rotation, where the Padres possess up to 10 men competing for five spots. The unit as a whole has depth, but it may require an upgrade at the top half of the rotation. If San Diego can package a reliever and a starting pitching option for a clear upgrade in the rotation, they will examine this idea.<\/p>\n

One thing is clear: A.J. Preller and his staff were not pleased with the lack of depth in 2025. They have amended that problem and done so by bringing in players who should have something left in the tank. No disrespect to Jason Heyward<\/a>, Yuli Gurriel<\/a>, Martin Maldonado<\/a>, and Connor Joe<\/a>, but most knew that they were cooked. Not everyone in the current group of veterans signed this winter will pan out, but you get a way better feeling from this year\u2019s free agent signings. In adding depth, the Padres possess options to trade. Expect the team to do something this spring as the 26-man roster needs to be finalized.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

James was born and raised in America\u2019s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. James has written about the Padres and their prospects for over a decade. He also writes about San Diego State as well as other local sports. James is the Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that\u2019s our motto. Enjoy.<\/p>\n

\t\tContinue Reading<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Credit: MiLB.com The San Diego Padres may very well trade from their depth in the bullpen this spring…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":580714,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2407],"tags":[5,4,43,6233,137,18,4339,4338],"class_list":["post-580713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego-padres","tag-baseball","tag-mlb","tag-padres","tag-padres-mlb","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-padres","tag-sandiego","tag-sandiegopadres"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116096364975239558","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=580713"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580713\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/580714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=580713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=580713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=580713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}