Padres should be reaching breaking point with this struggling sidearm reliever

Things just keep getting worse for the San Diego Padres and their bullpen. First, it was Wandy Peralta breaking down against his former team, then it was Adrian Morejon getting hit pretty bad seemingly out of nowhere. Now, the spotlight is on Alek Jacob.

The 26-year-old right-handed sidewinder was a bit of a surprise to make the Opening Day roster, but he had a strong first month to the season. Jacob boasted a 1.80 ERA through his first 12 appearances of the 2025 season, but things have taken a turn for the worse in May. With the Padres struggling to win games in May, it's imperative of the front office to start thinking about making moves. With a 9-11 record this month, San Diego has fallen below the Dodgers and the Giants for third place in the NL West standings.

Going by the way that Alek Jacob has pitched as part of this nightmare month, is it worth defending him anymore? At this point, he is taking up a roster spot in the bullpen that the Friars desperately need to amend.

Padres' Alek Jacob is losing justification to remain on the roster

On Saturday on the road against the Braves, things got ugly for Jacob. Coming in relief after a Sean Reynolds spot-start, Wandy Peralta was first in line of relief. He twirled two scoreless innings before handing it over to Jacob, who surrendered four runs on three hits and a walk.

This outing inflated Jacob's season ERA to 6.94, allowing 18 earned runs across 23 1/3 relief frames. Opponents are now hitting .323 against him this season. He's allowed six home runs and holds an 18/10 K/BB rate.

These are all forgettable numbers, even with his strong start to the year. Over his last four appearances, Jacob has let up 13 runs (12 earned) in just 3 2/3 innings. Is there a reason that the Padres keep throwing him out there? In May, he sports a 16.20 ERA, allowing 18 hits and seven walks in 8 1/3 innings.

Jacob's time might be up. The Padres need to find a stopper to plug up the bleeding that is pouring out of the bullpen. It might start with moving Jacob to the minor leagues.