Padres Shockingly Sending Down Starting Pitcher, Says AJ Preller

Mar 27, 2025; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres general manager A.J. Preller looks on before an Opening Day baseball game between the San Diego Padres and the Atlanta Braves at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images | Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

San Diego Padres left-hander Kyle Hart was optioned to Triple-A, according to president of baseball operations A.J. Preller.

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AJ Preller tells @BenAndWoods that Ryan Bergert will be called up to pitch out of the bullpen in a corresponding move after sending Kyle Hart down. Preller said he believes Hart should return to the Padres soon.

— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) April 25, 2025

The Friars will use a four-man starting rotation moving forward because of the team's upcoming schedule, which is why Hart was sent down to the minors.

Reliever Ryan Bergert will be called up in a corresponding roster move. Heading to Triple-A El Paso, Hart has a 6.00 ERA with 16 strikeouts and a 1.381 WHIP across five starts. In 21 innings this season, he recorded a 6.7 percent walk rate, 17.8 percent strikeout rate and a 33.3 percent ground ball rate.

Wednesday's 6-0 loss to the Detroit Tigers was Hart's final start, where he allowed two earned runs on five hits while striking out six over 4.1 innings of work.

The Padres signed Hart to a one-year, $1.5 million deal this offseason. He joined the Friars in February after spending the 2024 season overseas in the KBO. Hart went 13-3 with a 2.69 ERA across 26 starts, with 182 strikeouts over 157 innings last season.

In 2024, Hart was the winner of the Choi Dong-won Award, which is the KBO’s equivalent of the Cy Young.

This spring, the right-hander emerged as one of three candidates to earn the final spot in the starting rotation. Despite his late arrival to camp, manager Mike Shildt said Hart was legitimately in the mix to be the No. 5 starter.

“I just want to go see him pitch," Shildt said in February. “It’s unfair for me to have too high of expectations with guys that I’ve never really seen before, but clearly, he’s legitimately in the mix to be the fifth starter.”

Once Yu Darvish began the season on the injured list, the Padres suddenly had a need for two starting pitchers, which opened the door for Hart.

The Padres four-man rotation will feature Michael King, Dylan Cease, Nick Pivetta, and Randy Vasquez.

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