The Padres announced that they have selected right-handers Garrett Hawkins and Miguel Mendez to their 40-man roster. That protects both of them from being selected in next month’s Rule 5 draft. San Diego’s 40-man roster count climbs to 36.
Hawins, 25, was the Padres’ ninth-round pick in 2021. He pitched 60 innings in 2025 with a sparkling 1.50 ERA with a massive 35.1% strikeout rate against a 10.1% walk rate. He’s a pure bullpen prospect who returned from Tommy John surgery in 2025 with even better velocity and strikeout rates. Hawkins still hasn’t pitched in Triple-A but is an obvious candidate to get a big league look at some point in 2026.
Mendez, 23, climbed through three levels this season, topping out in Double-A and posting a collective 3.22 ERA, 29.4% strikeout rate and 11.2% walk rate. The Dominican-born hurler draws plus grades for his fastball and slider — the former, in particular — but he has subpar command that still needs refinement if he’s to continue as a starter. For the time being, the Padres have continued to try to develop him in a rotation role; he started 21 games in 2025.
I am surprised that they didn’t add Pena to the 40-man roster.
That doesn’t make much sense to me either. I guess the organization is ok with letting him get picked up by another team.
They currently have a bunch of RP on the 40 man. If you count Hart and Omar Cruz as SP even though both of those guys threw out of the pen last year at times, that still puts you at 14 RP already. When you look at the current SP depth, they are probably earmarking the remaining pitching roster spots for guys who can start since they realistically still need to add multiple SP.
I think it would make sense to DFA Alek Jacob to protect Pena, but maybe they are just crossing their fingers that no one takes Pena and they get to keep both.
These two guys have some impressive stats
how many are on the 40 man now with the addition of these two?
These two are real game changers
Article says 36
I asked (when article first was posted …”more to come”), and received. Thx
Hawkins is this huge kid that looks like he could have been a linebacker in the NFL. He comes almost straight over the top with a long stride and a high effort type of delivery. Before the TJ surgery that cost him his 2024 season he sat 92-93. This season he was sitting 95-96 and hitting 98 with his 4 seam and it has elite spin so it rises on hitters. Padres fans may be surprised to see him filling in when the team needs an extra arm in the pen.
Mendez is the opposite. A tall, skinny kid with compact mechanics and a delivery that looks effortless and the ball absolutely explodes out his hand. Was visiting one of our club players in Cal league this year and saw Mendez pitch and he was hitting 98-100 consistently. With some work on his command and more usage of a plus slider he could be in the Padres bullpen by the end of the 2026 season.
I like these two pitchers a lot but what are we going to do about our rotation in 2026? With a new owner possibly on the horizon will Preller/Seidler make any kind of noteworthy signings at this stage?