The San Diego Padres bullpen was expected to be the strength of the team coming into the 2026 season, the first season under new manager and former Padres reliever Craig Stammen. The San Diego bullpen has been good, but it has not been the shutdown game-determining juggernaut the Friar Faithful expected. In fact, one of those power arms at the back of the ‘pen, Jeremiah Estrada, landed on the IL following a slow start to the year. Estrada had some difficult outings where he did not look like the same
dominant arm that struck out 13 batters in a row, but the greater concern was the drop in his velocity. Another electric arm in the San Diego bullpen, Adrian Morejon, has also struggled to start the season. Stammen said it himself in a recent postgame press conference, Morejon is not getting hit hard, but broken bat singles and flares to the outfield somehow keep finding grass.
The performances of Estrada and Morejon have really been the only negatives from the bullpen so far. Yuki Matsui has yet to return to the big-league roster, but Jason Adam was reinstated last week and looks like he never suffered a season-ending injury in 2025. David Morgan, Kyle Hart, Wandy Peralta and Bradgley Rodriguez have all had moments this season where fans could see what the potential the prognosticators saw before the season began when they were praising the Padres’ bullpen.
Of course, the crown jewel of the San Diego bullpen to this point in the season is closer Mason Miller. He has been talked about as the single most dominant player at any position in the MLB. That is high praise for one of the biggest points of contention from the 2025 season. Was it a mistake by general manager A.J. Preller to trade top-prospect Leodalis DeVries for Miller and JP Sears? Even without Sears, those in favor of the trade could claim a victory.
One thing is for sure, as the season progresses and players like Estrada, Morejon and eventually Matsui return to the bullpen, decisions for Stammen and Preller will become increasingly difficult. The benefit of those decisions should be the elite group that was so highly touted in the offseason.
Padres News:
- Fernando Tatis Jr. played back-to-back games at second base to allow Xander Bogaerts and Jake Cronenworth to get days off. The result was an improved performance at the plate and a double play throw that intended to put a hole in the glove of first baseman Gavin Sheets. No matter the reason for the (temporary) move the Platinum Glove winning right fielder looked happy to be back on the dirt.
- Tatis Jr. may not get many more chances to play second base if Sung-Mun Song continues his success in his rehab appearances with Triple-A El Paso. The infielder was 2-for-5 in the most recent action for the Chihuahuas.
Baseball News:
- The New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels faced off against each other on Monday, but the real story was Aaron Judge versus Mike Trout. With the two combining for four home runs, they did not disappoint.
- Jordan Walker of the St. Louis Cardinals cannot stop hitting home runs – and the Cardinals do not want him to.
- Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes finally got some run support in one of his outings as the Pirates scored 10 runs in a single frame against the Washington Nationals.
- Kyle Schwarber hit two home runs against his former club and helped the Philadelphia Phillies start their series against the Chicago Cubs with a win.
- Boston Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet got beat up by the Minnesota Twins and allowed 11 runs in 1.2 innings. Byron Buxton became the all-time home runs leader at Target Field as a result.
- Nolan Arenado and Ketel Marte each hit two home runs to help the Arizona Diamondbacks against the Baltimore Orioles, but it was Pete Alonso who helped Baltimore walk away with a win.
- Josh Naylor, who signed a free-agent deal with the Seattle Mariners in the offseason, had a breakout game at the plate with two home runs.
