The San Diego Padres are shaping up for a busy and unpredictable offseason. With the front office aiming to add several starting pitchers, the team is also exploring ways to adjust payroll, which has put names like Nick Pivetta and Jake Cronenworth in trade conversations.
Given all the uncertainty and the added challenge of Yu Darvish being sidelined for the entire 2026 season, the Padres’ need for rotation help is more obvious than ever. That reality led to speculation about whether the club might look internally and convert a reliever into a starter.
One of the pitchers mentioned in those discussions was Mason Miller. ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez addressed that possibility during the MLB Winter Meetings, revealing that San Diego has already made a decision on the matter.
Padres make Mason Miller decision during MLB Winter Meetings
“Padres manager Craig Stammen said they’ll keep Mason Miller, Adrian Morejon, and David Morgan in the bullpen rather than converting them to starters,” Gonzalez reported. “So, the Padres are very much in the market for starters.”
Although the idea of stretching Miller into a full-time starter is tempting given his eye-popping production, the Padres view it as an unnecessary gamble. Transitioning from the bullpen to the rotation places a very different physical demand on a pitcher, and while it may look workable in theory, it carries significant risk in real-world execution.
Miller, Morejon, and Morgan were all evaluated as potential rotation options, but the organization ultimately ruled out that path. Stammen acknowledged the concern, explaining that such a move would be “a risky proposition health-wise and performance-wise.”
By keeping those arms in the bullpen, San Diego preserves what remains one of the strongest relief units in the league. Jason Adam is expected to return near the start of the season, softening the blow of Robert Suarez’s departure and helping stabilize the late innings.
Miller, who posted a remarkable 0.77 ERA across 22 regular-season appearances after arriving from the Athletics, is now expected to step into the closer role for the Padres.
While upgrading the rotation remains a top priority, the Padres are choosing not to compromise their elite bullpen by forcing a high-risk conversion. Instead, the team will look outside the organization for starting pitching help while keeping Miller and the rest of the relief corps in roles where they can be most effective.