Padres have serious bullpen question marks if star closer departs & Mason Miller starts

What was widely expected looks to become official very soon for Robert Suarez, as the star closer is projected to opt out of his $8 million contract for 2026 in search of a more lucrative deal.

The news was reported by Jon Heyman of The New York Post when he wrote in his column that he expects two of the league’s top closers, Edwin Díaz (New York Mets) and Robert Suarez, to test free agency.

“Not only is Edwin Díaz expected to opt out with $37 million and two years to go, but so is star Padres closer Robert Suarez, who has $16 million and two years to go,” said Heyman.

What was likely Suarez’s final appearance as a Padre came in Game 3 of the Wild Card against the Cubs, in which he allowed a solo home run to Michael Busch, and on the very next pitch a double to Nico Hoerner.

While A.J. Preller was bracing for this, it puts the Padres’ bullpen at a disadvantage, as the team is flirting with the idea of turning Mason Miller into a starting pitcher. Miller came over at the trade deadline in a blockbuster deal to help bolster San Diego’s already strong bullpen.

But with Dylan Cease and Michael King likely departing this winter, the starting rotation is in need of arms, badly, meaning Miller’s rumored transition could become a reality.

So what looked like the league’s best bullpen may be in need of reinforcements. The big three who are guaranteed to remain in the pen are Jeremiah Estrada, Adrian Morejón, and Jason Adam, but we see none of them taking on the closer role.

An in-house candidate we can expect to be experimented with in high-leverage situations is David Morgan, as he put up a tremendous rookie campaign. The Southern California native who grew up a Padres fan posted a 2.66 ERA over 47.1 innings of work.

Whoever Preller chooses to replace Mike Shildt as manager will have a lot of experimenting to do, as a retooled bullpen, along with an almost entirely new front end of the starting rotation, looks evident.