Mike Shildt Declines to Name Padres Closer: 'It's Hard to Say That There's One Guy'
Even during some of their bleakest years as a franchise, the San Diego Padres have consistently employed a reliable closer. More often than not, the task has fallen to one man, from Goose Gossage to Trevor Hoffman to Heath Bell and, most recently, Josh Hader.
When Hader decided to sign with the Houston Astros, he left the Padres and new manager Mike Shildt with a burning question. Who will close games for them in 2024?
Shildt's non-committal answer in an interview with the San Diego Union-Tribune this week might not have been what fans were hoping for. It's out of step with team history to begin the regular season with a closer-by-committee approach.
Yet given their personnel as it stands today, it's hard to fault Shildt's logic:
The good news is we’ve got a lot of tremendous candidates. Obviously, (Robert) Suarez has been in that role and done it, has the stuff to do it, the mentality to do it. … (Yuki) Matsui has obviously done it in Japan for many years. We just added Wandy Peralta, who has pitched in high-leverage situations for many years. I’m not going to give you an absolute answer because depending on the day, depending on the matchups, it could be anybody based on who is available. We have spring training for a reason. So we will evaluate what that looks like. And then there is the possibility that we go relative to what the situation calls for. And that’s really the best bullpen is when you have multiple guys who are available to (pitch in) multiple situations. So (in early) February, it’s hard to say that there’s one guy.
Understandably, the Padres aren't making any final decisions until someone proves to be the guy they can count on. Peralta, Matsui, and Suarez are not bad options on paper, despite their lack of experience in ninth-inning save situations.
Perhaps notably, Shildt did not name as a candidate Woo Suk Go. The 25-year-old right-hander signed a free agent contract with the Padres in January after establishing himself as one of the best closers in the KBO over the last five years. He accrued 139 saves and a 2.39 ERA during that time with the LG Twins.
That's three or four options that plenty of managers would gladly struggle to choose from. Last season, only 12 teams had a 30-save pitcher last season as the closer-by-committee approach has enjoyed a recent surge in popularity.
The Padres were not among them, so 2024 could see the franchise break from its long tradition.
