ST. LOUIS -- The Padres open a three-game set at Busch Stadium on Monday evening without their all-world closer, as RHP Mason Miller was placed on the bereavement/family medical leave list. That designation will leave him off the roster for a minimum of 72 hours, taking him out of play for the whole series.
LHP Kyle Hart was recalled from Triple-A El Paso to take Miller’s spot on the active roster.
“Mason’s got a personal matter he has to attend to, and he wants to keep it private,” manager Craig Stammen said. “We’re gonna miss him the next few days.”
Miller’s 19 saves lead the National League and rank second in Major League Baseball, behind Cleveland’s Cade Smith (23). His eye-popping 59 strikeouts in just 30 innings pitched are a continuation of the dominance he’s displayed since being traded to San Diego at last year’s Trade Deadline.
Those 19 saves account for all but three of the total recorded by Padres pitchers thus far in 2026. Without Miller, the responsibility for closing down the back end of games will be distributed among some of the club’s broadly trusted core of regular relievers, including Jason Adam and Adrian Morejon, who have one save a piece thus far this season.
“It’s the beauty of having a real solid bullpen, where we’re still solid one through eight, and we really feel solid,” Stammen said. “We’ve got [David] Morgan here and Hart, who was just in El Paso, so it’s more than one through eight. It’s like a one through 10, one through 12 that we feel good about, and I feel good about any of those guys finishing the game tonight.”
Hart, 33, has allowed 10 runs in 16 2/3 innings spread over 12 appearances from the San Diego bullpen in 2026. He was optioned to Triple-A on May 5 after breaking camp with the club out of Spring Training.