The Padres have the kind of late-inning weapon every contender dreams about in Mason Miller. The problem is what comes before him.
Miller just took home the inaugural BBWAA National League Reliever of the Year award after putting up a 1.67 ERA with 38 saves and 129 strikeouts in 70 innings. Those 129 strikeouts set a Padres record for a reliever.
He’s the guy you want finishing games at Petco Park. But if the rotation can’t hold up its end, the ninth inning starts feeling a lot farther away than it should.
That’s where the real pressure sits on A.J. Preller this winter.
The Padres’ biggest pitching need isn’t at the back of the bullpen - it’s in the rotation, where the question is how much the club is willing to spend on starters who can consistently work deep enough to matter. A starter who gets through six innings changes everything.
He leaves Craig Stammen with a much lighter load, and that’s the whole point.
Michael King showed exactly what that looks like in 2026, giving the Padres 185 innings over 32 starts with a 3.21 ERA. He was the one starter they could really trust for quality outings.
Outside of him, that kind of reliability was much harder to find. When a starter only lasts four innings, Stammen has to cover 12 more outs just to hand the game to Miller.
Stack that on consecutive nights, and the setup plan for the weekend can get scrambled fast.
The Padres do have some moving parts to sort through. King opted out, Nick Pivetta’s option was declined, and Joe Musgrove’s role still isn’t clear after his return from Tommy John surgery. Signing Ryan Weiss gives the club some depth, and he should get starts in 2027 even if he begins the season outside the rotation.
The front office is at least looking in the right places. Jon Morosi reported the Padres’ interest in Tarik Skubal, and The Athletic’s Dennis Lin connected them to Shota Imanaga.
A reunion with King would make sense, too. Preller deserves credit for aiming high.
Now the Padres have to actually land one of those arms.
This is where paying for a track record matters. It’s easy to look at Miller’s dominance and assume the bullpen can absorb some of the burden, but that’s a dangerous way to build a staff.
Long road trips and tired relievers expose that thinking in a hurry. And if Adrian Morejon signs somewhere else, the question gets even sharper: who is covering those four or five outs before Miller takes over?
The Padres already paid a steep price to get Miller, sending Leo De Vries the other way. Then Miller went out and won NL Reliever of the Year.
That tells you what this front office thinks three outs in the ninth are worth. Now the real test is whether it’s willing to invest just as seriously in the first 18.
In Other News...
Padres Outfield Fix Could Trigger A Bigger Fernando Tatis Jr. Shakeup
The Padres are headed into an offseason that could reshape more than one spot on the diamond, with the front office weighing upgrades in both the outfield and the infield. One possible trade partner to keep an eye on is Philadelphia, where names such as Brandon Marsh and Trea Turner have surfaced as potential fits in the broader market discussion, giving San Diego a path to address multiple needs at once.
What makes the situation especially interesting is the ripple effect such a move could have on the rest of the roster. If the Padres land a corner outfielder, Fernando Tatis Jr. could be asked to slide to second base, a change that would alter the look of the lineup and the defensive alignment in a meaningful way. Jake Cronenworth could also become part of the equation, which means the Padres may be staring at a much bigger shakeup than a simple outfield fix. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Take A Flier On A Pitcher With Something To Prove
The Padres are taking a low-cost look at Ryan Weiss, a right-hander who has already had to navigate the churn of a difficult season and a change of scenery. Houston designated him for assignment in June after a rough stretch in the majors, but he stayed on the radar by finishing the 2026 season on a stronger note at Triple-A with Sugar Land, the kind of rebound that can keep a pitcher in the conversation even after the big league numbers have gone sideways.
Now San Diego has given Weiss a one-year deal with an option for 2028, a structure that suggests the club sees more than just a temporary arm for the depth chart. For Weiss, it is another chance to turn that late-season momentum into something more lasting, and for the Padres it is the sort of under-the-radar pitching bet that can pay off if the stuff and the results finally line up at the right time. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Interest In Shota Imanaga Comes With One Clear Concern
Shota Imanaga has surfaced as a possible free-agent fit for the Padres, and the appeal is easy to see. He gave the Cubs 174 1/3 innings in 2026 with a 3.77 ERA, giving Chicago a durable left-hander who could take the ball regularly and stabilize a rotation. For San Diego, a pitcher with that kind of track record naturally draws attention, especially with the club always looking for reliable innings without sacrificing upside.
The concern is just as obvious, though, because Imanaga also allowed a troubling number of home runs. That is where Padres pitching coach Ruben Niebla enters the conversation, since the club would likely believe he could help refine Imanagas pitch mix and make him more effective deeper into games. The fit makes sense on paper, but the question is whether San Diego thinks it can clean up the one flaw that could determine how well the rest of his game translates. [Read more 🡒]