Meet the new San Diego Padres after Juan Soto trade with New York Yankees

Jhony Brito

One of two young, versatile, perhaps lesser-known major league pitchers the Padres are getting from the Yankees is Jhony Brito, who pitched 90.1 innings this year, his first in the majors. He started 13 games, closed one, and appeared in relief in 11 others for a 4.28 ERA. His first few months, when he was put into a backend rotation starter, were rocky to say the least. With an ugly 2/3 innings pitched in his third start, he gave up six hits and seven runs with one home run, and may have been tipping pitches throughout. Brito spent a good deal of the season going up and down from the majors to Triple-A and back again, but steadied considerably after he was called back up for the final time this year on Aug. 11.

From August through the end of the season, he appeared entirely in a long relief role and his ERA settled, going from 5.17 at the end of July to 4.28 to end the year, and featuring a stellar 1.06 over 17 innings in September. Maybe Brito's struggles at the beginning of the season could be attributed to growing pains, and it'll be up to the Padres to see if they want to entrust starts to him, but he's clearly a capable reliever who can pitch multiple innings to preserve the rest of the bullpen.

Randy Vásquez

Like Brito, Randy Vásquez appeared as both a starter and reliever for the Yankees this year. He turned in fewer innings (37 2/3) but also fared better during them, finishing the year with a 2.87 ERA. It seems that the Yankees wanted to ease Vásquez in slower than Brito; the former made his first start on May 26 and, despite the fact that he did a decent job over 4 2/3 innings (he gave up four hits, two runs, and struck out six), was optioned back to Triple-A for a few weeks until his second start on June 8. He became a more consistent presence in September with six appearances, one as a start.

Also like Brito, the Yankees were evidently eager to use Vásquez as a multi-inning reliever who could hold down games or occasionally appear as an opener on a bullpen day. The Padres, who desperately need more bullpen arms, might be more likely to use both Brito and Vásquez in relief roles, but the fact that they're coming with flexibility and versatility is a huge upside to their inclusion in this deal.

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