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Padres Prioritizing Right-Handed Bullpen Help

By Steve Adams | June 12, 2024 at 2:22pm CDT

The Padres are known to have strong interest in White Sox lefty Garrett Crochet as they seek upgrades in the rotation, but Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that a “shutdown right-handed reliever” is San Diego’s “top” priority at the moment.

A right-handed reliever makes sense for the Padres, whose contingent of late-game arms skews somewhat left-handed. Beyond closer Robert Suarez, the Friars’ top right-handed arms are Jeremiah Estrada and Enyel De Los Santos. Estrada has been sensational this season, logging 21 innings of 0.86 ERA ball with an enormous 43.2% strikeout rate against an 8.6% walk rate. De Los Santos sports a solid-looking 3.54 earned run average, but he’s surrendered a whopping eight home runs in just 28 innings of work (2.57 HR/9). He has six holds but generally hasn’t been the preferred option in leverage spots — hardly all that surprising given his home run woes.

Other right-handed options in manager Mike Shildt’s bullpen include Rule 5 pick Stephen Kolek and long reliever Jhony Brito. Kolek has been knocked around for an ERA just shy of 6.00 while sporadically working into low-leverage spots as the Padres try to navigate the season with him on the big league roster. Brito has been used primarily for long relief and has pitched well in that role. He’s unlikely to move into shorter, higher-leverage stints.

Estrada and southpaw Yuki Matsui have been the primary options in setup situations for Suarez. But Estrada pitched only 39 1/3 innings last season and has no track record of big league success aside from this year’s out-of-the-blue breakout. He’s also been more effective against lefties than righties, though neither has been able to mount much in the way of offense against him.

San Diego’s reported interest in Crochet and their early-season trade activity could be instructive when looking to potential bullpen targets. Beyond the Crochet’s general excellence, he’s also being paid just an $800K salary this season. In the Padres’ acquisition of Luis Arraez, they not only convinced the Marlins to pay down the remainder of Arraez’s salary to league minimum but also to take back the two-year, $4.5MM contract of reliever Woo-Suk Go. It’s logical to expect they’ll have particular interest in lower-salary relievers (or in paying a heavier prospect premium to convince a trade partner to pay down salary).

San Diego is just about $12MM shy of the luxury-tax threshold, per RosterResource, with a bottom-line payroll of $166MM. They’ve been unafraid to spend beyond their means in the past, but the Padres also slashed payroll by more than $80MM this past offseason. It seems unlikely they’d take back a reliever on a notable contract unless said reliever’s current team included cash to help facilitate the swap.

Oakland’s Mason Miller stands as one obvious option — and he’s precisely the type of star-caliber player Padres president of baseball operations tends to pursue with nearly unrivaled aggression. Teammate Lucas Erceg, just reinstated off the injured list today, is another speculative candidate who’d fit the bill. Other names will become clearer as July 30 inches closer and as teams more concretely plot their deadline trajectories. Some speculative names to keep in mind on current fringe contenders include the Ryan Helsley (Cardinals), Yimi Garcia (Blue Jays) and Hunter Harvey (Nationals) to name only a few.

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54 Comments

  1. User 3048809731

    1 year ago

    Kikuchi and Garcia for a huge haul, except Atkins is making the trade still be an unranked prospect and some cash

    Reply
    • Simm

      1 year ago

      Guilt says the jays don’t sell anyways. Though they both would fit the padres nicely.

      1
      Reply
  2. Simm

    1 year ago

    Crochet would be perfect accept he has an innings limit. Not sure he can provide a team the help they need down the stretch.

    Miller is an interesting candidate. Though I don’t think the padres will be trade the pieces it takes. They have Estrada and Suarez both pitching lights out in the 8-9 innings. Even more considering they both have gone more than 3 outs at times. So I wonder if they look for a very good but less expensive option to be the 7-8 guy. I would think millers value as a closer would be more appealing to other teams that really need it. Though Estrada/Miller/Suarez in the 7th-9th would be insane.

    If you all had to pick one of crochet or Luzardo who would you pick?

    They both have the same amount of control left. Luzardo does have a higher salary of the two but crochet does come with a possible innings limit.

    5
    Reply
    • Gwynning

      1 year ago

      Flip a coin, I guess. Either would be a nice add! I doubt we drop the prospects required for the high-end addition, though.

      6
      Reply
      • billdoran

        1 year ago

        Machado doing 75% of norms would be huge

        2
        Reply
        • D68Soldier

          1 year ago

          They should have let Machado walk when he opted out. Especially, if they knew about his elbow problems. He has been below his career numbers since that extension.

          1
          Reply
      • SDHotDawg

        1 year ago

        I think Crochet comes with more risk. He’s been a walking MASH unit since his college days.

        1
        Reply
    • SteveFinleyEnthusiast

      1 year ago

      If money was not an issue, I’d prefer Luzardo since he won’t have the innings limit. That said, Crochet has very intriguing upside.

      I think the most realistic option is going after a rental (i.e. Kikuchi, Severino). The Marlins and White Sox have a ton of leverage and will be seeking a premium haul.

      I wouldn’t mind a guy like Sears as well.

      4
      Reply
      • Pads Fans

        1 year ago

        The White Sox are said to be limiting Crochet to 110-120 innings. He has 85 now.

        Rentals have not worked out well for the Padres. Can’t think of any that excelled after being traded here.

        Reply
    • I Believe We Can Win

      1 year ago

      There’s certainly other options for lefty starter.

      Jp Sears, A’s
      Framber Valdez, Astros comes with 1 more year
      Austin Gomber, Rockies (see if he can improve outside Colorado)

      Tons of options for the pen out there as well.

      I think Colorado could be a one stop shop with Gomber, Beeks, Vodnik and kick back some prospects their way. They have a lot of holes on the roster.

      1
      Reply
      • ACK

        1 year ago

        I don’t think the Padres need a lefty SP. They have enough lefties in the bullpen. In the playoffs you are using only Darvish, Cease, and King/Musgrove as SP. Any other game is a bullpen game with no one pitching over 3 IP / game in playoffs.

        1
        Reply
        • I Believe We Can Win

          1 year ago

          Gotta get to the playoffs before you have a plan for the playoffs.

          They may not need a lefty starter for playoffs but they certainly could use a lefty starter for remainder of the season. And any lefty starter could be used in the opener role come playoff time. Morejon and Matsui could use another lefty in the pen during the season and during playoffs.

          Depth is also never a bad thing. Who’s to say guys remain healthy rest of the season.

          3
          Reply
        • Brew88

          1 year ago

          Peralta (throwing game away right now), de Los Santos, and Matsui have been mostly unreliable setting up Estrada and Suarez

          4
          Reply
        • ACK

          1 year ago

          That’s why I mentioned earlier the Padres need another bullpen arm over SP. The SP rotation has been really good.

          2
          Reply
        • Brew’88

          1 year ago

          Donny Barrels and Action Jacky came though. WOuldnt have happened last year!

          6
          Reply
        • padreforlife

          1 year ago

          That rotation isn’t getting anywhere

          1
          Reply
        • SDHotDawg

          1 year ago

          Their bullpen usage has been puzzling all season. Strange. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason with matching up the pitcher to the situation, be it high or low leverage.

          1
          Reply
    • Pads Fans

      1 year ago

      Luzardo. No innings limit.

      3
      Reply
      • Brew88

        1 year ago

        Machado for Luzardo, straight up, pads throw in 50M

        2
        Reply
        • Pads Fans

          1 year ago

          Won’t help the Padres win. What would is MAchado continuing to hit like he has in June – .300/.400/.433/.833

          Reply
        • Brew88

          1 year ago

          Luzardo would help them win. So would Muchado hitting like 2022.

          2
          Reply
  3. Ketch

    1 year ago

    Kenley Jansen and Chris Martin will likely be available.

    1
    Reply
    • Gwynning

      1 year ago

      Pass on Kenley- too expensive for the diminished returns. Martin is a possibility, though!

      2
      Reply
      • Rsox

        1 year ago

        Martin is great when he’s on but when he’s off he can single handedly lose you a game. I do however expect that neither will still be in Boston on August 1st

        1
        Reply
  4. Acoss1331

    1 year ago

    Helsey from the Cardinals would fit the bill, but Mo would have to be willing to sell at the trade deadline.

    1
    Reply
  5. csspackler

    1 year ago

    Kopech

    3
    Reply
    • vtadave

      1 year ago

      I think they are looking for an upgrade.

      2
      Reply
      • csspackler

        1 year ago

        Dude has stuff+

        2
        Reply
        • Pads Fans

          1 year ago

          Off topic. What do you think of the fan engagement campaigns the Padres made the last 2 seasons? You worked in that area for a long time for the team I think.

          Reply
    • SDHotDawg

      1 year ago

      I could live with that. He still seems to be learning his craft, but damn he’s got stuff.

      1
      Reply
  6. bkbk

    1 year ago

    Carlos Estevez for gas money

    1
    Reply
  7. HiredGun23

    1 year ago

    Every team should always be looking for pitching. I don’t think Mason Miller is a star yet but he has the stuff to be. Based on the small sample size, what would the haul the A’s would expect back?

    1
    Reply
    • boltman

      1 year ago

      Fischer would want tens of thousands of dollars for Miller.

      3
      Reply
  8. straightuphonestguy

    1 year ago

    Nice piece Steve. I’d also mention Morejon as a set-up option for Suarez. Their back three is quite solid, actually.. their middle relief is the real problem. I think they need more lefty relievers than anything, but they’re committed to Matsui and Peralta.

    2
    Reply
    • billdoran

      1 year ago

      Their $800M sticks would normally make up for weak middle relief. We could be a NL problem if they semi resembled norms

      2
      Reply
      • straightuphonestguy

        1 year ago

        Tatis is back, and Manny looks to be on the upswing. We’ll see about Bogaerts once he recovers.

        1
        Reply
  9. ACK

    1 year ago

    The Padres need bullpen help more than SP help. Darvish should be back Saturday after taking another old man IL stint. Cease is TOR SP. King and Waldren have exceeded expectations. And Vasquez has been a decent no 6. The SP rotation is good enough if they can get Musgrove back before the playoffs.

    I’d actually argue that Darvish is the bigger key than Musgrove. As long as Darvish can make 22-25 starts and be healthy for the playoffs the Padres could stand pat at TDL. Musgrove has done nothing in 2024 and has been the Padres worst SP by far.

    4
    Reply
    • straightuphonestguy

      1 year ago

      IMO they could still use a BOR starter. As much as I’m loathe to envision it, a Hill reunion might make sense if the dollars are right. Just someone to keep the young arms/BP somewhat rested for the back half of the season. I’m still unsure about Mazur for serious innings this year, and I’m not sure how much to expect out of Darvish’s health.

      Reply
      • Brew88

        1 year ago

        I was optimistic that this would be the year when Snelling would be ready by mid season to join team, but he’s not ready. Especially if the team needs help for a playoff run. The only help from below this year will have to be Mazur. Hopefully he looks more viable in next start than he was against AZ

        4
        Reply
        • straightuphonestguy

          1 year ago

          Yeah, I thought Snelling would be a bit further along too. Waldron has exceeded my wildest expectations though, so SP development hasn’t been all bad this year.

          2
          Reply
        • Brew’88

          1 year ago

          I was sure wrong about Waldron earlier this year, I didn’t think he’d learn on the fly how to optimize his knuckler with his other pitches, but the guy has been a revelation. If he keeps it up he’ll become a folk hero – he’s already got the attention of Mahomes

          4
          Reply
  10. ATinz

    1 year ago

    Padres are garbage.

    1
    Reply
  11. Brew88

    1 year ago

    The needs for pitching will take a back seat to a need for a LF (preferably with some slug) if Profar injury is significant.

    6
    Reply
    • ACK

      1 year ago

      The offense is a bigger need than pitching. I am still hopefully that Xander could return and be similar to a TDL addition. 1 high leverage bullpen arm is needed thou.

      2
      Reply
      • straightuphonestguy

        1 year ago

        Padres are 4th by wRC+; the offense is not the issue. BP and starter depth continue to be their Achilles’ heel.

        4
        Reply
      • SDHotDawg

        1 year ago

        @ACK —
        Believe it or not, the offense is OK. The problem is the bullpen and overall pitching depth.

        1
        Reply
  12. James Midway

    1 year ago

    I think Andrew Nardi would be a steal.

    Reply
  13. sdpadsfan11

    1 year ago

    Padres should give Sean Reynolds a look. He looked solid in spring training.

    2
    Reply
  14. oldguyG

    1 year ago

    Until preller makes a change in bullpen and tries something different they will be 500. DLS , Peralta , Kolek are blowing every game . yuki is wild but preller has not even tried anyone different .

    2
    Reply
  15. Pads Fans

    1 year ago

    If Preller does make a move for a reliever I would think someone like Justin Slaten or Ryan Helsley. Possibly Yimi Garcia or Fernando Cruz, but both are well into their 30s, so not sure about that.

    1
    Reply
    • straightuphonestguy

      1 year ago

      Cruz would be interesting. Great arm who’s cheap with lots of team control, but 34. I wonder what that trade would look like.

      1
      Reply
      • Pads Fans

        1 year ago

        A couple of low level prospects neither of us have ever heard about probably.

        1
        Reply
  16. Astrosfn1979

    1 year ago

    Ryan Pressly needs a change of scenery.

    3
    Reply
  17. padreforlife

    1 year ago

    Trust the hipster he’s done lots

    Reply

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