ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Padres entered the offseason with perhaps the most fearsome bullpen in baseball. They intend to keep it that way.
After months of speculation regarding his role for 2026, Mason Miller is expected to remain in the bullpen, new Padres manager Craig Stammen said on Monday. Adrian Morejon and David Morgan are expected to continue pitching in relief as well. All three had been discussed internally as potential starting-pitching options for a thin Padres rotation.
Those decisions aren’t entirely final, Stammen noted. But both Stammen and general manager A.J. Preller, speaking on Day 1 of the Winter Meetings in Orlando, cited the importance of ensuring that the team’s biggest strength would, in fact, remain a strength.
“We’ve got a lot of good pitchers in our bullpen that we can pitch numerous innings in a lot of different parts of the game,” Stammen said. “As far as starting, I think we're still having those conversations, but leaning towards those guys staying in their current roles.”
Miller stays in the ‘pen
Miller, of course, arrived in San Diego in a Trade Deadline-day blockbuster in which the Padres sent their top prospect, Leo De Vries, to the A’s as part of a six-player deal.
Miller was always going to finish the 2025 season pitching in relief. But the team left open the possibility that Miller might return to a starting role with the club (after he’d broken through in the big leagues as a starter in '23).
Perhaps that still happens eventually; Miller is under team control through 2029. But for now, the Padres seem more than happy to employ Miller as a reliever in '26 -- and presumably as their closer, with Robert Suarez set to depart in free agency.
“That’s not a bad place to start,” Preller said. “We think [Miller] is as impactful as any reliever in the game. Having a team that’s super strong at the back of the bullpen, that’s important, and he’s as impactful as anybody.”
The Padres saw that first-hand in October, when Miller began his postseason career with eight consecutive strikeouts. In 22 regular-season appearances with the club, Miller posted a 0.77 ERA and an absurd 54.2% strikeout rate.
Morejon, Morgan and a crowded ‘pen
Miller wasn’t the only reliever mentioned as a potential candidate for a move to the rotation. Morejon began his career as a starter. Morgan, meanwhile, is relatively new to pitching but would seem to have the arsenal and the smooth, repeatable delivery to thrive as a starter.
Both seem likely to stay in the ‘pen. Like with Miller, it ain’t broke, so the Padres don’t see a need to fix it.
“We've tried Adrian in a starting role before,” Stammen said. “He had different variants of success. We put him in the bullpen, and he's been dominant. I think keeping him in a dominant place is going to be important for the Padres.”
With Miller, Morejon and Morgan set to continue pitching in relief, the Padres’ bullpen is crowded. Throw in the fact that they recently signed right-handers Ty Adcock and Daison Acosta, and there aren’t many spots available (though both Adcock and Acosta have options and can serve as Minor League depth if they don’t crack the season-opening bullpen).
Nonetheless, with a glut of relievers -- and obvious needs elsewhere -- it’s worth wondering if the Padres would entertain a trade in which they send one or two of their relief arms elsewhere.
A major need in the rotation
The impetus behind those reliever-to-starter discussions was always this: The Padres’ rotation depth is barren. Nick Pivetta returns atop the rotation. Joe Musgrove is expected back from Tommy John surgery. And Randy Vásquez should slot somewhere at the back end of the rotation.
But Dylan Cease just signed with the Blue Jays. Michael King will be the next to leave via free agency. Yu Darvish will miss the entirety of the 2026 season following UCL internal brace surgery.
Hence the speculation that the Padres might look to move an arm or two from their deep bullpen into their rotation. If that’s not the case ... where do they turn?
“Internally, we’ve got options that we’ll talk about and continue to look to get those guys ready for Spring Training,” Preller said. “Then, here at the Winter Meetings and throughout the offseason, we’re looking at the trade and free-agent markets as well.”
Preller, like Stammen, went out of his way to say the decisions aren’t necessarily final. But if, indeed, all three of those relievers remain relievers, the Padres have clear work to do in the coming weeks.