On May 19, the Los Angeles Dodgers handed San Diego Padres closer Mason Miller his first loss in more than a year, prompting San Diego to explore ways to strengthen an already dominant bullpen.
Despite Miller still being viewed as one of baseball’s premier closers, manager Craig Stammen and the Padres are reportedly searching for additional elite relief help ahead of the trade deadline.
According to Padres insider Dennis Lin, San Diego has shown interest in two star relievers with Hall of Fame-caliber résumés — Aroldis Chapman of the Boston Red Sox and former Padre Josh Hader, who now pitches for the Houston Astros.
Chapman, 38, has been dominant this season with a 0.51 ERA and 12 saves for Boston while continuing to throw triple-digit fastballs. The eight-time All-Star owns a career 2.48 ERA and 379 saves, and San Diego has reportedly monitored him for years.
Hader, meanwhile, remains a familiar name in San Diego after spending part of 2022 and all of 2023 with the club. Although he struggled initially following his trade to the Padres, he rebounded with a stellar 1.82 ERA and 33 saves during his lone full season with the team. The Astros’ rough start has fueled speculation that Hader could become available despite his no-trade protection.
Stammen recently acknowledged the Padres want to better manage Miller’s workload, emphasizing the need for more dependable late-inning options to preserve their star closer over the course of the season.
Ironically, San Diego’s bullpen has already been one of baseball’s best, ranking near the top of MLB in ERA, saves, and strikeouts.
Relievers Bradley Rodriguez and Jason Adam have both posted ERAs under 2.00, while Adrian Morejon remains a trusted arm despite inconsistent numbers.
The larger issue has been offense. After investing nearly $1 billion combined in Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Xander Bogaerts, the Padres’ lineup has badly underperformed.
Machado is batting just .179, Tatis has yet to homer, and Bogaerts is hitting well below his career average as San Diego currently owns the worst team batting average in baseball at .221.
That has sparked debate over whether the Padres should prioritize bullpen upgrades at the trade deadline instead of fixing their struggling offense.
