Padres' bullpen goes from great to elite in 2025 with these savvy adjustments

It’s August 1, 2024, and after a flurry of moves across the league, one team emerged with a dangerous bullpen. Trades for long man Bryan Hoeing, setup man Jason Adam and an electric lefty closer in Tanner Scott had emboldened an already strong Padres bullpen. Fast forward to the postseason, and this may have been San Diego’s greatest weapon. The San Diego relievers ultimately finished 2024 with a 3.78 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, .236 opponent average, a K/9 of 9.38, a BB/9 of 2.91, and an HR/9 of 0.98.

Over the following offseason, San Diego lost Tanner Scott to division rival Los Angeles Dodgers and made no notable relief pitching signings, but did they need to? Through 34 games, the answer seems to be a pretty clear: No.

Not only has San Diego been a fierce bullpen to beat but in most metrics, they rank atop a few categories among all teams in the majors. Entering May 6, they have a collective 1.68 ERA, .181 opposing average, and a 0.95 WHIP - all the best in Major League Baseball. So, not only are opposing teams not scoring very often, most times they aren’t even getting on base.

Robert Suarez has learned that heat alone is not the most effective use of his talents. He has started to incorporate his changeup roughly one-third of the time, up from just 12.8 percent in 2024. This combination of speed and finesse has made him the early season leader in saves at 14 to go with a minuscule 0.60 ERA.

Before Suarez closes the door in the ninth inning, we often see Jason Adam as the setup man in the eight. Acquired at the deadline last year, Adam has been an integral part of the back end of San Diego. He was phenomenal last year, and this year he has continued right where he left off to the tune of a 0.95 ERA with 11 holds and a 3-0 record. Adam’s changeup has proven to be an effective tool for getting key outs.

Before Adam comes in, San Diego has some superb options. Jeremiah Estrada, a flamethrower who last year set an MLB record with 13 (yes 13) consecutive strikeouts. Option two is Yuki Matsui, a lefty off-speed specialist building off his solid first year out of the NPB. Another guy to turn to is also a lefty, but Adrian Morejon uses his upper 90s fastball to blow hitters away instead of dance around them.

One thing San Diego seems to have in abundance is great bullpen depth. Should Padres starting pitching fail to make it through 6 innings, Wandy Peralta and Alek Jacob have often bridged the gap very well with ERAs of 1.35 and 2.16, respectively. When the “regulars” are unavailable or not smart to use in a situation, Omar Cruz and Ryan Bergert get the nod. In a small sample size of just 5 2/3 innings, they have combined for two earned runs and six strikeouts. These numbers representing the lower leverage relievers show how dominant San Diego’s bullpen arms are.

So what is the difference between this bullpen now and last year? Short answer is that they are performing the way they should be, shortening the game considerably. Every member of the bullpen has proven they are an intricate part of a powerful weapon. Most often times the formula is simple: a serviceable outing from the starter + production by the stars + lockdown bullpen = Padres win.