San Diego Padres: Players Most Likely To Be Traded This Offseason

Robbie Erlin, the reliever, provides tremendous value.

For much of the season, the San Diego Padres used Robbie Erlin out of the bullpen, a move that was met with a lot of success. As a reliever, Erlin has logged 52 innings, posting a 2.05 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, a 23% strikeout rate, and a 2.1% walk rate.

Robbie Erlin the starter hasn’t fared as well. In 51 innings, Erlin has a 6.66 ERA, a 1.52 WHIP, 17.5% strikeout rate, and a 3.5% walk rate. As he works his way through a lineup for the second time, the numbers get even worse.

Erlin has worked an 8.86 ERA and 1.69 WHIP the second time through a batting order as a starting pitcher. Opponents are hitting .354 against him in this situation. He has clearly been a much better pitcher out of the bullpen, unfortunately, as we mentioned in a previous slide, the Padres already have an extremely deep bullpen with even more names coming up soon.

The 27-year-old may not bring back a haul by himself, but if Preller were to package Erlin with a few prospects, a valuable piece could find its way back to San Diego. With Matt Strahm and possibly a player like Brett Kennedy able to man the long-relief role, Erlin may find himself expendable this offseason.