![\"Peoria,](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/SUT-L-padres-photo-day-112.jpg\")
Peoria, AZ \u2013 February 18: Jeremiah Estrada #56 of the San Diego Padres poses for a portrait on February 18, 2026 in Peoria, Arizona. (K.C. Alfred \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\nPEORIA, Ariz. \u2014 Jeremiah Estrada did not want to leave the rotation. He did not want to mothball his curveball and change-up. He didn\u2019t agree with a lot of the Cubs\u2019 plans for his developmental path, so much so that he welcomed the split when that organization designated him for assignment on his 25th birthday.<\/p>\n
So yeah. Maybe you could say that Estrada \u2014 who glared at the Cubs brass at Petco Park after a particularly dominant showing against his former team last April \u2014 has pitched with a chip on his shoulder.<\/p>\n
But time in his new home with the Padres, in the new home he purchased with his fianc\u00e9e and time away from his busiest season yet have had a revealing effect on the 27-year-old Estrada as he settles in for his third season in the Padres\u2019 bullpen.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s more that there\u2019s a hand on my shoulder now,\u201d Estrada said. \u201cThat\u2019s Christ telling me there\u2019s a better way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Peoria, AZ \u2013 February 18: Jeremiah Estrada #56 of the San Diego Padres poses for a portrait on February 18, 2026 in Peoria, Arizona. (K.C. Alfred \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n
Estrada was speaking while relaxing at a table on the pitcher\u2019s side of the big-league clubhouse at the Peoria Sports Complex. He has breakfast there most mornings as fellow hurlers cycle through with their meals and crossword puzzles amid their morning routines. Estrada is as present in those conversations as he is any time he climbs a mound. Yet the pull back to life he\u2019s building back home is real in the many quiet moments there are throughout spring training.<\/p>\n
His smile widens.<\/p>\n
Estrada finally moved into the home he purchased over the summer in La Quinta. He taught his dogs to swim in his new pool. He lost 24 pounds, from 230 to 206, using workouts that included pickleball, golf, walking and more. He took excursions with his girlfriend. The couple leaned into their faith in new and profound ways.<\/p>\n
In February, Estrada asked Jianna Guerrero to marry him. They\u2019re planning a 2027 wedding.<\/p>\n
Estrada\u2019s 97.9 mph four-seamer is faster than 94% of the league, but he\u2019s in no rush to get to what comes next. He speaks of children in their future, but he\u2019s also relishing the here and now like never before.<\/p>\n
\u201cI treated this offseason,\u201d Estrada said, \u201cas understanding what\u2019s more important.\u201d<\/p>\n
Which is why Estrada didn\u2019t stress once he realized he was not going to be able to track down the documentation needed to join Team Mexico for the World Baseball Classic.<\/p>\n
It would have been an honor, sure, but Estrada was already coming off a heavy workload.<\/p>\n
His 108 strikeouts last year led all relievers. His 202 punchouts since becoming a full-time reliever with the Padres in 2024 are more than everyone but teammate Mason Miller (208), Bryan Abreu (208) and Cade Smith (207).<\/p>\n
Only three relievers last year logged more than Estrada\u2019s career-high 77 appearances, and only four relievers had more holds than Estrada\u2019s 30. He made two more appearances in the NL Wild Card Series, the last an emergency entrance as he tried to bail Yu Darvish out of a dicey second inning.<\/p>\n
Estrada walked in one of the runners he inherited but kept the game close, pitching two frames before handing the ball to Michael King in the fourth inning.<\/p>\n
The next time Estrada picked up a ball was in early December.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe could go off a spreadsheet like they want us to do, but at the end of the day, nobody\u2019s going to know my body better,\u201d Estrada said before beginning to rub his right shoulder. \u201cI know what this felt like, and I for sure know what it felt like after that last game.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Jeremiah](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/SUT-L-padres-training-026.jpg\")
Jeremiah Estrada #56 of the San Diego Padres signs autographs for fans before their spring training game against the White Sox at Camelback Ranch on Tuesday, March 3, 2026 in Phoenix, Ariz. (Meg McLaughlin \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n
Estrada began throwing on his timeline. A focus once he took a look at his repertoire, pitching coach Ruben Niebla said, was the consistency of a splitter that eluded him for entire games at times.<\/p>\n
Maybe that\u2019s why Estrada\u2019s home run rate ballooned from 0.6 per nine innings to 1.5. Maybe that\u2019s why his ERA ticked upward from 2.95 to 3.45. Or maybe it was just the Dodgers and Teoscar Hernandez who just had his number. Only Andy Pages has more plate appearances against Estrada than Hernandez and Hernandez took him deep twice in a span of two months after Estrada had struck him out in two appearances over the previous years.<\/p>\n
Take away Estrada\u2019s struggles against the Dodgers last year (13 runs in 6 \u2153 innings) and his 3.45 ERA drops to 2.03, lower than all but 10 relievers in the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt some point, if you keep slapping someone in the face, they are going to get out of the way,\u201d Estrada said. \u201cHe\u2019s going to figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s about as much thought as Estrada is willing to entertain about last year\u2019s struggles against the Dodgers. They happened. Now he\u2019s moving forward.<\/p>\n
![\"Jeremiah](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/SUT-L-SpringTraining-Day8-049.jpg\")
Jeremiah Estrada #56 of the San Diego Padres pitches during spring training workouts at the Peoria Sports Complex on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026 in Peoria, Ariz.(Meg McLaughlin \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n
With a good grip again on his splitter, his \u201cchitter,\u201d Estrada has struck out 10 over 6 \u2154 innings so far this spring, scattering one hit and six walks.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe went into the offseason in a much better spot with that pitch,\u201d Niebla said. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen him in spring training already, like he can just lean on it and throw it three times in a row and it\u2019s going to be competitive and that\u2019s a good step forward for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
But one step at a time.<\/p>\n
Yes, Estrada was the only member of the Padres\u2019 \u201cFour Horsemen\u201d who did not make the All-Star Game last year, but he was happy to celebrate his teammates. He was happy to watch his Padres \u201cbrothers\u201d live their best lives in the World Baseball Classic. He\u2019ll pitch when he\u2019s asked like he always has as part of the Padres\u2019 victory formation. He\u2019s a year closer to arbitration eligibility and ultimately the opportunity to earn life-changing money for himself, his fianc\u00e9e and a very tight inner circle back home in the Inland Empire.<\/p>\n
But a reliever with one of the fastest four-seamers in the game is in no hurry. He\u2019s happy to let good things come in due time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m grateful for who I am,\u201d Estrada said. \u201cI am where my feet are at.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PEORIA, Ariz. \u2014 Jeremiah Estrada did not want to leave the rotation. He did not want to mothball…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":632419,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2407],"tags":[5,853,4,43,137,18,4339,4338,185],"class_list":{"0":"post-632418","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego-padres","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-latest-headlines","10":"tag-mlb","11":"tag-padres","12":"tag-san-diego","13":"tag-san-diego-padres","14":"tag-sandiego","15":"tag-sandiegopadres","16":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116258055339166338","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632418","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=632418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632418\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/632419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=632418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=632418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=632418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}