Padres Add Adam Warren To Already Solid Bullpen

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Credit: USA Today Sports

The Padres have added to their roster as Adam Warren was signed by the team on Friday.

The San Diego Padres have agreed to a deal with reliever Adam Warren. It is a one-year deal with a club option for 2020.

Unfortunately, the coinciding roster move is that highly touted left-handed reliever Jose Castillo is headed to the 60-day injured list with a flexor strain.

Warren is a seven-year veteran with playoff experience, as he was in the bullpen for the 2017 Yankees’ run to the ALCS. He had a brief stint with the Mariners last season, after being dealt mid-season from New York.

Last season, with those two clubs, he posted a solid 3.14 ERA with a sub-4 FIP. He has a career 121 ERA+, which is well above average. In 2017, leading the Yankees to a playoff run, his ERA was 2.35 in 46 games and a 193 ERA+.

Warren adds to an already solid bullpen for the Padres. San Diego posted a 3.53 bullpen ERA, which was sixth-best in the league last season, all with the mid-season departure of Brad Hand and Adam Cimber. Kirby Yates will be the closer for the Padres, as he is coming off of a 2.14 ERA season where he recorded 12 saves. Craig Stammen is back with his sub-3 ERA as well as another season of development for Phil Maton.

This means the top three arms overall from last year are back along with this addition of Warren. If Matt Strahm doesn’t make the rotation, he will be another solid bullpen option. All of a sudden, this could be one of the better bullpens in the NL West and maybe even the National League as a whole.

The Padres also just recently signed Aaron Loup, a lefty specialist that has been in the league for a while. He has a sub-3.50 career ERA over seven seasons, mostly in the toughest division for pitchers, the AL East in Toronto. Warren, also a seasoned vet of the AL East, complements him being right-handed.

San Diego may yet add more as the spring goes along, whether from the plethora of arms still available in free agency or in their minor league ranks. Who will be this year’s Robert Stock or Phil Maton? San Diego seems to always find a diamond in the rough in the bullpen and this year should be no exception.

Now the Padres have another proven veteran in a budding bullpen that should be the strongest position group on the team.

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