This Lefty Reliever Was Biggest Surprise In Padres Bullpen

Ask casual baseball fans who the biggest surprise was in the San Diego Padres bullpen, and the name you’ll almost certainly hear is “Mason Miller.” It’s a good choice given that the closer had a season for the ages, but you can make a solid argument that he wasn’t the biggest surprise in the padres ‘pen. 

Yuki Matsui had an excellent season, which was a shocking development. Before this season, Matsui was mostly an afterthought, a low-leverage reliever who was usually used when the Padres got behind big early, or at the end of late blowouts. 

Not this year. The Padres had to lean heavily on their excellent bullpen early and often, and that continued throughout the season as the rotation continued to stay thin. 

By the middle of the season, manager Craig Stammen was going to Matsui in the middle innings, and down the stretch Matsui became a high-leverage, late-inning reliever who was trusted to hold a lead. 

So what changed? Matsui did add some velocity in many of his outings, as he hit 95 on occasion to jump from his usual low-90s offerings. But it was more about the left-hander hitting his spots consistently, which is important because Matsui tends to live in the upper part of the strike zone to get outs. 

The result was a huge uptick in all of Matsui’s key stats. His ERA was a remarkble 1.83 with a WHIP of 1.14, and Matsui struck ou 68 hitters in 64 innings pitched. Contrast those with his 3.98 ERA the year before, and it’s clear the left-hander was a very different pitcher who became indispensable as part of the Padres formidable arsenal of relievers. 

That does leave the Padres with an interesting problem with Matsui, however. His contract has two years left with a total of $13.5 million remaining, and the left-hander has two options available, one for 2026 and another for 2027. 

Given the numbers he just posted, Matsui could be in line for a big raise given the expected waive of signings expected during and right after the GM meetings, which start on Nov. 9. 

Will the Padres be able to match? Are they interested? They should be given what Matsui did this season, and players usually have until five days after the World Series ends to opt out or elect to stick around. We haven’t heard anything about possible negotiations, but Matsui is a reliever the Padres can ill-afford to lose.