{"id":122699,"date":"2026-05-26T00:23:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T04:23:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=122699"},"modified":"2026-05-26T00:23:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T04:23:11","slug":"rumored-padres-bullpen-additions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/05\/26\/rumored-padres-bullpen-additions\/","title":{"rendered":"Padres Shopping for Bullpen Help, Three Candidates Named"},"content":{"rendered":"

The San Diego Padres are many things. They don’t have a particularly potent offense despite a remarkably high ceiling. Their starting rotation<\/a> has plenty of question marks. But their bullpen<\/a> is one of the most elite in all of MLB. Between high-leverage relievers like Jason Adam<\/a>, Jeremiah Estrada<\/a>, Mason Miller<\/a>, Adrian Morejon<\/a>, and rookie flamethrower Bradgley Rodriguez<\/a>, the San Diego ‘pen doesn’t have many faults. Even role players like Ron Marinaccio<\/a>, Yuki Matsui<\/a>, David Morgan<\/a>, and Wandy Peralta<\/a> would be some of the best pitchers on other teams. But with the Padres? Those four find themselves being used in low-leverage spots.<\/p>\n

So that’s why the news that the Padres are searching for bullpen additions seems strange. It was surprising news for the Friar Faithful to hear. The offense has spent the first two months of the season displaying its tremendous inconsistency. The same is true for the starters. The bullpen seems like the last place the Friars would want to add, so why are they shopping around?<\/p>\n

An Elite Relief Corps … Covering Up a Spotty Rotation<\/h2>\n

The answer might lie in that inconsistent rotation. The Padres haven’t gotten much from their starters. San Diego’s rotation owns a 4.60 ERA. That’s almost a full run above the team’s collective 3.86 ERA. That means the bullpen has pitched so well and over so many innings that they’ve lowered the team ERA by 0.74 runs. The ‘pen has covered a whopping 229 1\/3 innings. That’s the second-most in MLB.<\/p>\n

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Entering play on Monday, the Friars have played 52 games. Assuming that all innings were pitched by the Padres, that would mean their pitching staff has covered a maximum of 468 innings. That means the bullpen has covered almost exactly half of every game, meaning San Diego starting pitchers are only covered four-plus innings on average.<\/p>\n

With that in mind, it makes a little more sense why the Padres would be looking to acquire another bullpen piece. A deep relief corps shortens games tremendously. It makes it so that a game is basically over as long as the team has the lead when their starting pitcher exits. That’s been the case for the Friars for most of this season, and they’d like that to continue. Because of that, San Diego has been searching for additions to the bullpen. Below are the three names floating around the rumor mill, ranked in order of least to most likely.<\/p>\n

Three Padres Bullpen Trade Additions Being Floated<\/h2>\n

3. Josh Hader (HOU)<\/h3>\n

Josh Hader<\/a> has spent an abundance of time on the injured list with the Houston Astros. He’s been on the injured list since April with left biceps tendinitis. He’s been pitching in rehab and has done relatively well, though he likely won’t be ready to pitch in the big leagues until June.<\/p>\n

The lefty has been elite for almost his entire career. Apart from three of his nine seasons in MLB, Hader has boasted an ERA under 3.00 to go with a career 2.64 ERA. He spent the end of 2022 and the 2023 season with the Padres before signing a five-year, $95 million contract with the Astros. He’s set to make $19 million a year until he becomes a free agent after the 2028 season.<\/p>\n

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The Padres have reportedly been exploring bullpen help and Josh Hader could be one name they are looking at if the Astros decide to sell, per @dennistlin<\/a> & @Chandler_Rome<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cHader, in the third year of a five-year, $95 million contract, has full no-trade protection, but the\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/jHWZfVh7RK<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 SleeperAstros (@SleeperAstros) May 21, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n