Is the Padres' “Super Bullpen” Still a Reality in 2026?
In 2025, the San Diego Padres found an interesting recipe for success. The team was mediocre offensively, ranking towards the middle of the league in runs scored, yet they secured a 90-win season. Their consistent success stemmed largely from their elite bullpen. The offense wasn’t required to explode every night; instead, they would score what they needed and hand it over to the bullpen. Spearheaded by a trade deadline acquisition, the Padres secured the best bullpen ERA in baseball by a wide margin.
Utter Dominance
Last season, the Padres sent three relief pitchers to the 2025 MLB All-Star Game. Headlined by closer Ranger Suárez, set-up men Jason Adam and Adrian Morejon joined him on the trip. Morejon’s stellar 2025 served as a long-awaited breakout after years of injuries and mismanagement. Bouncing between the rotation and the bullpen since his debut in 2019, the left-hander found his home, pitching to an ERA of 2.08, the second-best mark in the Padres bullpen. The 2025 all-star’s run prevention allowed him to rack up 2.4 WAR, an outstanding amount for a relief pitcher. The only man to best him in ERA was Adam, partially because he sustained a devastating ruptured quad tendon in September, shelving him for the Padres' playoff run. Despite the injury, the 34-year-old threw 65.1 innings of 1.93 ERA baseball, the second-lowest season ERA in his career.
The team's primary closer, Suárez, is the only pitcher from the Avengers-level bullpen to depart. The 2024 all-star was second in the MLB in saves in 2025, racking up 40 with an ERA of 2.97 as well. In 2022, Suárez burst onto the MLB scene with a 2.27 ERA in 47.2 innings of work with the Padres. He was rewarded with a five-year, $46 million deal. Throughout the contract, the 30-year-old earned 76 saves, pitching to the tune of a 3.10 ERA. The 2024 all-star left San Diego in the offseason, opting out of his Padres contract, instead signing a three-year, $45 million deal with the Atlanta Braves. Suárez was great for San Diego in his two seasons as a closer, but at the 2025 deadline, they secured their closer of the future.
Mason Miller was sent to the San Diego Padres on July 31st, 2025, in a blockbuster move that sent top prospect Leo De Vries to the Athletics. The Padres somehow improved the best bullpen in baseball. Whether it was needed or not, Miller instantly clicked in San Diego. Despite struggling with the Athletics in the first half of the year, carrying a 3.76 ERA at the time of the trade, he went on a ridiculous run. In 23.1 innings of regular-season baseball, the 2024 all-star struck out 45 batters with a 0.77 ERA.
Should We Expect the Same Success in 2026?
Miller is by far the easiest Padres reliever to be excited about in 2026, and for good reason. The departure of Suárez is a blessing in disguise. Suárez’s departure created a vacancy in the closer role that Miller perfectly slotted into. In a full season as the Padres' closer, the sky is the limit for the 27-year-old flamethrower. It is highly feasible to see Miller bringing home an all-star nod and a Reliever of the Year Award in 2026. As for the arms that come before him, the Padres are due for another year of impeccable bullpen performances.
The main predictor of success is the fact that everyone in the bullpen outside of Miller is staying in the same role. Morejon remains an early-inning mainstay, with his baseball savant revealing no signs of regression in 2026. Breakout star Jeremiah Estrada remains in the same role as Morejon, serving as a sixth-to eighth-inning strikeout specialist. The only pitcher with slight question marks is Adam, who is yet to make his season debut thanks to the quad injury he sustained late in 2025. Despite this, no signs point to post-injury regression for Adam. Even with the departure of Suárez, the Padres' 2026 “super bullpen” is still alive and well.
