San Diego Padres land much needed bullpen help in Trevor Rosenthal

The San Diego Padres have acquired reliever Trevor Rosenthal from the Kansas City Royals.

If the San Diego Padres, excuse me, Slam Diego Padres, want to continue making noise deep into the 2020 postseason, there’s no denying that general manager AJ Preller is going to have to make a few major additions to his pitching staff over the next 48 hours.

On Saturday afternoon, both Ken Rosenthal and Dennis Lin of The Athletic reported that the San Diego Padres have landed their first bit of help in the form of Kansas City Royals closer Trevor Rosenthal.

Overall, the San Diego Padres bullpen ranks among the bottom-third of all major league bullpens, recording a 0.4 fWAR ahead of their contest on August 29th. Closer Kirby Yates and recent additions Drew Pomeranz and Emilio Pagan are all either on the Injured List or battling nagging injuries.

Veteran Craig Stammen owns a 7.90 ERA through 14 games, while fellow veteran Tim Hill boasts a 4.22 ERA and a propensity to give up the long ball in his first season with the Padres. Former shortstop prospect turned high-powered reliever Javy Guerra is striking out more than 9.5/9 IP, but entered the weekend with a 12.19 ERA.

Starting rotation woes aside, the Padres bullpen needs some tending to and the addition of Trevor Rosenthal should be a major boost.

After missing all of 2018 due to Tommy John surgery, Rosenthal struggled mightily in 2019, walking 26 hitters in 15.1 innings and putting up a 13.50 ERA with the Washington Nationals and Detroit Tigers.

The 30-year-old righty has largely returned to form in 2020, pitching more like the Trevor Rosenthal who dominated with the St. Louis Cardinals from 2012-2017.

Through 14 games, Rosenthal is striking out 37.5% of hitters, holding opponents to a .188 average and owns a respectable 3.29 ERA to go along with his seven saves.

Walks have still been an issue for Rosenthal (12.5% walk rate) but his 98 mph fastball is producing a 31% whiff rate and his slider has been nearly unhittable (.176 average against).

In return, the San Diego Padres are sending outfield prospect Edward Olivares and a Player to be Named Later to Kansas City. Olivares has been a productive hitter throughout his minor league career, including 18 home runs and an .801 OPS in Double-A last season.

He’s appeared in 13 MLB games this season, hitting .176 with a .222 on-base percentage and one home run.

Don’t expect this to be the last move AJ Preller makes. Rumors have already swirled concerning the San Diego Padres going after Texas Rangers starter Lance Lynn. With Chris Paddack and Garrett Richards struggling, another big splash may be in the works.