Padres considering transitioning three relievers into starters

Jared Bloom

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Padres considering transitioning three relievers into starters image

The San Diego Padres come into the offseason with a starting pitching problem. Both Michael King and Dylan Cease are free agents, and Yu Darvish will be unavailable in 2026 after having surgery on his elbow. 

They will do their best to re-sign either Cease or King, but that may prove quite challenging. Both are viewed as frontline starters, and there are tons of teams looking to make upgrades in their starting rotation. 

San Diego could turn to the open market to find an arm, and they are expected to do just that. However, the club is considering bolstering its starting rotation internally with some relievers. 

Padres considering transitioning three relievers into starters

San Diego's general manager, A.J. Preller, has already overseen relievers transitioning into starters. He was with the team when they decided to move Drew Pomeranz, Seth Lugo, and Michael King to the starting rotation. 

He already knows what it takes and is considering transitioning Mason Miller, Adrian Morejon, and/or David Morgan as starters, via The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon.

"A lot of times, it's talking to the individual pitcher and seeing where his head is at, how much he really wants to do that," said Preller. "If there's a role change for anybody, it's something that's going to be important for us over the next 10 to 15 days to make sure we have that dialed in, so they know what direction they need to go."

Rumors of Miller and Morejon moving to a starting role have been teased, but not Morgan. 

Rosenthal and Sammon suggest that moving Morgan to the rotation and signing a free agent starter could be at play here. This would allow San Diego to keep Miller as their closer. Taking Miller out of the bullpen would mean the Padres would have to search for another closer, especially if Robert Suarez signs elsewhere in free agency.

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Staff Writer