There have been many interesting Padres storylines throughout the 2026 regular season.

Chief among them is the emergence of a rookie reliever making a name for himself in the already stacked Padres’ bullpen.

Bradley Rodriguez saw some playing time at the end of the 2025 season. However, now that he’s made the major league roster, he’s truly shone on the mound.

This year, Rodriguez is sporting a 2.08 ERA and 2.55 FIP. Batters are averaging .204 against Rodriguez with a 26 strikeout percentage. His deep arsenal of pitches includes a 98-mph fastball and an elite changeup that generates a ton of swing-and-miss. He also has a pretty solid slider that he generally uses against righties.

Bradgley Rodriguez demon ball changeup pic.twitter.com/g2V5fb4Iog

— Giannis Auntiegotapoodle (@TooMuchMortons_) August 10, 2026

The San Diego Padres lost Jason Adam in July to a right shoulder strain. This left a hole in the Padres’ bullpen. Adam and Adrian Morejon both served similar roles as setup men for closer Mason Miller. However, without Adam in the pen, the Padres are developing Bradgley Rodriguez to take over his role.

Morejon and Adam are hitting free agency this offseason, and it’s unclear if the Padres plan to re-sign them. Between both, the only player likely to return to the club is Morejon, leaving the Padres out a high-leverage right-hander that isn’t named Mason Miller. However, they may not need to worry about that.

With such an elite reliever already dominating the mound, it seems only a matter of time before Rodriguez becomes the Padres’ primary setup man.

Craig Stammen implied as much after they used Rodriguez in the setup role with Adam and Morejon on rest. “We trust Bradgley a lot,” said manager Craig Stammen. “We view him as an elite part of our bullpen, someone that’s going to be a part of the bullpen for a long time, pitching in those important spot.”

The way relievers are played in modern baseball is vastly different than before. At the forefront of bullpen management and innovation are the Padres. Year after year, they’ve continuously used their bullpen in new and creative ways to hold games down.

These bridge players like Adam, Morejon, and now Rodriguez reflect a shifting focus toward a tightly managed bullpen meant to compensate for weaker starting pitching, and highlight elite closers like Mason Miller.

This is no doubt a direct result of Ruben Niebla’s coaching paying off in dividends. Niebla has been in the organization since 2022 and has completely transformed the Padres bullpen into the best in baseball, hallmarked by elite pitching capable of going deep with or without any run support.

Niebla believes Rodriguez can handle a bigger workload. “We know what we have in Bradgley…he has great stuff, electric stuff, he’s got a pitch mix to get both righties and lefties out, “ he said.

That pitch mix is a big part of what makes Rodriguez so valuable. Generally speaking, Rodriguez splits favor lefties more. This is due to that aforementioned changeup that puts away lefties with ease. However, on both sides of the batter’s box, Rodriguez has proved himself more than capable. This is extremely helpful as a setup man, who often doesn’t get to pick and choose what side of the lineup he’s going to face. Being plug-and-play in a variety of situations is ideal for the role. If necessary, he can even close out games.

First career save for Bradgley Rodriguez! pic.twitter.com/eKSDocb2n4

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 15, 2026

Rodriguez can also support even when the bullpen is struggling itself. On average, he’s pitching more than three outs a game. On five occasions, Rodriguez has pitched six outs, regardless of days rested. Three of which have happened in August, meaning the Padres are ramping up his progress and feeling more comfortable using him in these situations.

He’s also a grace under pressure. Since July, the right-hander has seen an average leverage index of 1.12, well above the norm. While that could just be a side effect of the Padres’ playstyle, as they aren’t a high-scoring team and are usually only up about three runs. In any case, he’s capable of handling these difficult scenarios. Of the 23 scenarios considered high leverage, he’s only allowed a run in 10 of them.

There’s still a long road for Rodriguez to go. The 21-year-old has plenty of time to continue to develop. However, when it comes time for the Padres to restructure for next season, they already know there’s someone they can rely on to fill the setup role.

Fabian Garcia