What Bryan Hoeing's Surgery News Means for the Padres Bullpen

The San Diego Padres were dealt an unfortunate injury blow on Thursday, as manager Craig Stammen announced that right-handed pitcher Bryan Hoeing was set to undergo elbow surgery that will sideline him for the entire 2026 season.

Hoeing has been dealing with elbow discomfort since the beginning of spring training, and it became increasingly clearer that surgery was a real possibility.

Now, the decision has finally been made, and Hoeing will miss the full season.

Hoeing will be a big loss to the bullpen as he has a career 1.99 ERA across 25 relief appearances with San Diego over the last two years. However, the Padres are fortunate to have plenty of depth in the bullpen, and will need to rely on it early in the season.

“It’s a bummer because he’s someone that could have really been a big part of our bullpen, fill a lot of different roles,” manager Craig Stammen said. “Really felt like we had an ace in the hole with him in the pen.”

Hoeing had the ability to go multiple innings, which is something that will be especially important for the Padres early in the year with all the question marks in the starting rotation.

Joe Musgrove, who hasn't pitched since 2024, has already taken a temporary pause in his throwing, and it's currently unclear when he'll get back on a mound. When he does, it's difficult to predict just how many innings he'll be able to give the Padres, especially in the first month of the season.

Michael King is coming off an injury-riddled 2025 season, while Nick Pivetta is dealing with arm fatigue that's delayed his progression. The starters behind those three are Randy Vásquez and then one of either Germán Márquez, Walker Buehler, Marco Gonzales, JP Sears and Triston McKenzie.

The Padres will likely rely on their bullpen early and often in the season, making the loss of Hoeing that much more great.

Fortunately, there are plenty of options to replace Hoeing and his multiple roles.

In terms of long relief, right-handed pitcher Logan Gillaspie has made a name for himself this spring, pitching 7.2 shutout innings across three appearances. He could be a perfect multi-inning guy to bridge the gap between the starters and back-end relievers early in the year.

Right-handers David Morgan and Bradgley Rodriguez are also two great candidates for that bridge role, as they've each had strong springs (and impressed in limited action last year).

Another multi-inning option could be left-hander Kyle Hart, who struggled last year but has been dominant this spring, pitching 8.2 shutout innings. It initially felt like his place on the roster would be contingent on Yuki Matsui opening the season on the IL, but Hart could now factor into the plans whether or not Matsui is healthy.

The Padres are fortunate to have plenty of bullpen depth, which is a big reason there were rumors early in spring training about the team potentially trading from their stock of relievers to upgrade another area of the team. Rather than a trade, the Padres are more likely to rely on their surplus of relievers early in the year, potentially covering extra innings as the starting rotation gets up to its fullest potential.

The Padres never want to see a player undergo season-ending surgery, but fortunately for the team, they've built enough depth to withstand an injury like this.

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