The New York Yankees have reportedly shown past interest in a piece of one of the highest-regarded bullpens in MLB.
Right-hander Jeremiah Estrada was born about 120 miles away from Petco Park in Rancho Mirage, CA. After he was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 2017 and debuted with them in 2022, he made his way to the Padres after he was claimed off waivers ahead of the 2024 campaign.
In these past three seasons, Estrada has a 3.27 ERA across 165 total innings. His ERA+ of 127 in that span is almost 30% higher than league average.
It was more of the same from Estrada this season when he was healthy, but right elbow tendinitis early in the regular season, knee inflammation over the summer and right shoulder impingement late in the year kept him on the shelf for a majority of the season.
Estrada is still a pre-arbitration contract, and at 27 years old, presents an opportunity to spend some of the best years of his career as a Padre. According to the New York Post's Joel Sherman, the Yankees have long been interested in swooping in to try and bring him to the East Coast.
The Padres finished the regular season with the fifth-lowest bullpen ERA in baseball with a 3.31 mark. The Yankees were first with a 3.13 ERA. San Diego also had the second-highest usage of their bullpen among MLB with 647.2 innings, while the Yankees saw the 12th-fewest innings from their relievers.
If Estrada has the same kind of availability in 2027, the Yankees present an environment that is far less reliant on their bullpen. If Estrada has the same 33 outings in San Diego again, his lack of action would be significantly more critical.
As for Estrada's arbitration, MLB Trade Rumors projects a $1.3 million deal for the 2027 campaign. For any team, the kind of production a healthy Estrada delivers is a no-brainer at that price, especially when a contending bullpen that was statistically the best in MLB last season has shown interest and retaining the arm keeps him off an American League contender's roster.
The high-usage of the Padres bullpen is something that can be relieved by more quality starts by the rotation, something they showed plenty of difficulty with in 2026. Perhaps if San Diego keeps things the same with the relief crew and further invests in the starters, it will result in a healthier bullpen and theoretically minimize injuries.
As for Estada, the Padres have shown no willingness to trade him. However, if they could use him to help aid their depleted starting rotation, it could be something worth considering.
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