In an offseason that has already seen ace Dylan Cease and closer Robert Suarez depart, the San Diego Padres need to replace some big names in their rotation and bullpen.
The Padres have signed right-hander Triston McKenzie to a minor league deal, with an invite to major league spring training, according to Aram Leighton of Just Baseball.
After spending the first six years of his career with the Cleveland Guardians, McKenzie will leave for the West Coast.
Drafted in the first round of the 2015 MLB Draft by Cleveland, McKenzie, 28, has seen many ups and downs in his career.
What Does McKenzie Bring to the San Diego Padres?
Standing at 6-foot-5, 165 lbs, the lanky right-hander has always had an interesting profile.
With Cleveland, he once looked the part of a future ace. In 2022, he had a breakout season, pitching 191.1 innings with a 2.96 ERA. During that season, he had 190 strikeouts and a career-low 2.1 walks per nine innings.
Since then, he has gone on a downward spiral, pitching in just 24 games.
In 2023, he missed most of the season with a teres major strain and subsequently sprained his ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow. While avoiding the dreaded Tommy John surgery, he has not been able to get back to his 2022 form.
In 2024, his control completely evaporated. He pitched to a 5.11 ERA in 16 games (75.2 innings), while having a minuscule 1.51 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
In 2025, he was moved to the bullpen, where he would struggle to the tune of seven earned runs in 5.2 innings before being designated for assignment.
McKenzie has an above-average extension. While even in his best season, he had below-average ground ball and hard-hit numbers, he brings above-average swing and miss numbers, per Baseball Savant.
McKenzie’s Fit With San Diego
With experience both in the rotation and out of the bullpen, McKenzie could be used as either a long reliever or starter.
For the Padres, there is little risk in the signing due to it being a minor league deal. But there is nothing but upside in this deal due to his prior success and relative youth.
The Padres have one of the top bullpens in baseball, even after losing Suarez. With Mason Miller, Jason Adam and Adrian Morejon leading the back-end, the most likely route for McKenzie to get playing time is in the starting rotation.
As of now, Joe Musgrove, Nick Pivetta, Randy Vasquez and recently re-signed starter Michael King are penciled into the rotation. This leaves a spot available for competition between McKenzie, Matt Waldron, JP Sears, Kyle Hart and others.
With the tutelage of renowned pitching coach Ruben Niebla, whom McKenzie has been with before in Cleveland, he could be primed for a bounce-back season.
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