Padres’ trade deadline gambit has given them one of the best bullpens in baseball

While one can quibble over the strategy in itself, no one argued that the San Diego Padres didn't significantly improve their bullpen at the trade deadline. Adding Tanner Scott got most of the headlines as he was arguably the best reliever available on the trade market, but Bryan Hoeing was also in that trade and is a really solid and controllable reliever that can throw multiple innings. On top of that, the Padres managed to trade some underperforming (but talented) prospects in order to acquire Jason Adam.

We have seen teams take this tactic before with mixed results. When a trade market is lacking impact players, teams can often turn to just overhauling their bullpen and hoping that will be enough. The Braves have had some success doing this at previous trade deadlines, but others have gone wild acquiring relievers only to have their other roster deficiencies end up costing them in the end.

The early eye test has suggested that the Padres' deadline gambit has already helped the team. There were several close games that could have gotten away from them without a strong bullpen. Now that we have a bigger sample size to look at after a couple of weeks, it sure seems like San Diego may now have one of the best bullpens in baseball.

The Padres' bullpen has already turned into one of the best in MLB

Coming out of the first half, the Padres' bullpen was already pretty good. They ranked 15th in all of baseball in fWAR with 2.2 across 324 appearances with Adrian Morejon, Jeremiah Estrada, and Robert Suarez leading the pack. Unfortunately, guys like Wandy Peralta and Enyel De Los Santos really struggled, and the Padres' signing of Woo-Suk Go was doomed from the start.

Fast forward to since the trade deadline and the picture is decidedly different. While we only have a sample of 46 relief appearances starting on July 31, the Padres' bullpen ranks third in all of MLB, again by fWAR (0.9 behind just the Rays and Diamondbacks). Within San Diego's list of top six relievers during that span? Jason Adam, Bryan Hoeing, and Tanner Scott (Robert Suarez leads the pack). Adam and Hoeing have made a total of 11 appearances with the Padres and have yet to give up a run.

There is obviously a long way to go in the 2024 season. San Diego still has 41 games to navigate the rest of the way. But with the way the bullpen is performing right now, the Padres' opponents better hope that they can get a lead while their starters are still in the game.

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