Padres Have New Breakout Reliever Who Wants More High-Leverage Opportunities

The San Diego Padres' front office has worked hard to build one of the best bullpens in the game of baseball this season.

This has been a clear intention from the roster construction, partly to help offset some of the questions within the starting rotation. But with the group led by star closer Mason Miller, the sky is truly the limit for the unit this season.

However, Miller can't do it all alone, and the team does have multiple other quality arms to help him out. One of the more under-the-radar options has been pitching very well this season, and he wants to see more high-leverage opportunities moving forward.

Left-hander Yuki Matsui has been great for the Padres this season, and he would like to be rewarded by the team. Matsui spoke through his interpreter to deliver the message of his desires the rest of the way.

“Right now, I’m taking on obviously a non-leverage multi-inning spot,” Matsui said. “But continuing to do well for what I’m giving, then hopefully I will move up and pitch in more important, more leverage situations.”

On the year, Matsui has appeared in six games for San Diego, putting up an ERA of 0.00.

Matsui's start to the 2026 season was delayed due to a groin strain that he suffered in spring training, and there was some thought that he could be let go from the roster. The veteran couldn't be optioned, but the Padres elected to activate him, and they are sure glad that they did at this point.

“He has had a phenomenal season,” manager Craig Stammen said. “He put in a lot of work this offseason, trained the entire off season, had a tough spring training, got hurt right away, and had a couple injuries. And then he went down and went to work. Went to El Paso. We kept him down there for basically as long as we could, and he didn’t say ‘boo.’ He came up and we prepared him to be able to pitch more than one inning."

Stammen added: "He has come up, and he’s been really big for us saving the bullpen.”

Matsui has been with the Padres since 2024, when he signed a five-year, $28 million deal after spending 10 seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The left-hander has delivered a consistent effort during his tenure with the team, and it's continued into 2026.

In 2024, Matsui posted an ERA of 3.73, with 69 strikeouts over 62.2 innings pitched. Matsui followed up his rookie campaign by putting up an ERA of 3.98 with 61 strikeouts over 63.1 innings last year.

His desire for more high-leverage situations could be coming down the line, especially if he continues to perform at a high level. Trust is earned in this league, and to this point in the year, Matsui has definitely earned Stammen's confidence in him moving forward.

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