What will newly re-signed lefty Kyle Hart’s role be for Padres?
Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
The Padres have made one of their first player moves of the offseason by bringing back Kyle Hart.
The Padres announced Monday that they have re-signed lefty pitcher Kyle Hart to a one-year deal, with a club option for 2027. San Diego had signed him to a deal ahead of the 2025 season after he spent the previous campaign in Korea.
Hart ended up tossing 43 innings for the Padres this season, with a 5.86 ERA.
Welcome back to San Diego, Kyle!
We have signed left-handed pitcher Kyle Hart to a one-year contract through the 2026 season with a club option for 2027. pic.twitter.com/USYIDqbJMP
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) November 17, 2025
Those numbers aren’t exactly eye-popping. However, it was Hart’s versatility that caught the coaching staff’s eye. At first, the Padres slotted him into the rotation after Yu Darvish began the season on the shelf being the No. 5 starter. After making his sixth start on May 28, he was sent down to Triple-A and eventually moved to the bullpen. In those six starts, he posted a 6.66 ERA with a miserable 1.364 WHIP.
The move to the bullpen seemed to pay dividends as the summer heated up and into the playoff race. In 14 relief appearances, his WHIP dropped from 1.364 to 0.923.
Now that the Padres signed him for 2026, what will his role be? Will they try him out again as a starter? Or build off his success out of the bullpen?
As it stands now, it might be the starting rotation out of necessity. Darvish is out for the entire 2026 season. Dylan Cease and Michael King are free agents. Nick Pivetta, Joe Musgrove, and Randy Vasquez appear to be the only stable members of the rotation. Hart has as good a chance as anyone else to snatch one of those final two spots.
It remains to be seen what kind of budget the Padres will have at their disposal this winter. One would assume that acquiring another starting pitcher is among their top priorities. If they don’t acquire another viable starter via trade or free agency, Hart likely starts Spring Training with a hold on one of the final rotation spots.
If the Padres do acquire a veteran starter, Hart’s role becomes much more in flux. Clearly, they value him in some capacity, given the deal they just agreed to. The Ohio native provides needed depth across the entire pitching staff, be it as a starter or long reliever. Arms like that are valuable over a marathon of a 162-game season.
It’s likely the Padres will give Hart a shot to earn a rotation spot in Spring Training, while planning for him to be a long relief option from the left side out of the bullpen, assuming they acquire another starter this offseason.
Native of Escondido, CA. Lived in San Diego area for 20 years. Padres fan since childhood (mid-90s). I have been writing since 2014. I currently live near Seattle, WA and am married to a Seattle sports girl. I wore #19 on my high school baseball team for Tony Gwynn. I am a stats and sports history nerd. I attended BYU on the Idaho campus. I also love Star Wars.