Padres' Mason Miller uncertainty puts high leverage bullpen free agent on radar

The Padres acquired Mason Miller to provide elite depth to an already strong bullpen, using him as the setup man behind Robert Suarez, who served as the team’s closer in 2025. 

With Suarez set to opt out of his contract, it seemed that the move for Miller was to make him the closer in 2026. However, the plans for him might be something few people expected. 

Padres President of Baseball Operations A.J. Preller pointed to the idea of adding Miller to the starting rotation, which is set to endure a lot of change over the offseason.

“That’ll be between us and Mason,” Preller said. “I think the good news is that he’s one of the great talents in the game. He can do a lot of things on the mound. I think we’ve obviously seen the dominance with the fastball, slider mix, the changeup coming into play.”

If this turns out to be the case, it would leave only Jeremiah Estrada, Adrian Morejón, and Jason Adam as the team’s high-leverage relievers. It is unlikely that any of these three will move into the closer role, leaving a glaring hole in the back end of the bullpen that needs to be patched up in free agency.

There is one option in particular that Preller should be looking at, as it could turn out to be a massive value signing.

Padres should be eyeing New York Yankees' Devin Williams in free agency

It is no surprise that Williams saw his market value drop significantly after a down season in the Bronx. However, the truth is that it wasn’t as bad of a season as people make it out to be. The 31-year-old pitched in a ballpark that was relatively hitter-friendly. This is evident from the fact that his xERA is 1.75 points lower than his actual ERA (4.79 down to 3.04).

Petco Park is the third-most pitcher-friendly ballpark in the league, only ranking behind T-Mobile Park (Seattle Mariners) and Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs). This would give Williams a chance to reestablish himself as one of the better closers in the league.

A four-man punch of Estrada, Morejón, Adam, and now Devin Williams would be a perfect way to rebuild a bullpen that will see some change. But who knows, Mason Miller may even remain the team’s closer, and the rumors of him joining the starting rotation may just be smoke.