Padres roster review: Bradgley Rodriguez – San Diego Union-Tribune
BRADGLEY RODRIGUEZ
Position(s): Right-handed pitcher
Bats / Throws: Right / Right
2026 opening day age: 22
Height / Weight: 6-foot-1 / 160 pounds
How acquired: Signed as an international amateur free agent in January 2021 (Venezuela)
Contract status: Made MLB debut in 2025; will not be arbitration-eligible until 2029.
fWAR in 2025: 0.1
Key 2025 stats: 1-0, 1.17 ERA, 0 saves, 0 holds, 9 strikeouts, 3 walks, 0.91 WHIP, .160 opponent average, 7⅔ innings (7 games)
STAT TO NOTE
98.5 — Rodriguez’s average fastball velocity, in miles per hour, in his brief time in the majors. That ranked in the 96th percentile of all pitchers. Rodriguez did not allow a hit off any of the 51 four-seamers that he threw while in the majors, but he did give three singles on the eight plate appearances that ended off his sinker. Rodriguez also did not allow a hit off any of the 30 changeups that he threw.
TRENDING
Up — As far as the 2021 international class is concerned, the Padres spent more money on top-50 prospects in SS Victor Acosta ($1.8 million), OFs Samuel Zavala ($1.2 million) and Daniel Montesino ($1 million) and RHP Victor Lizarraga ($1 million), but the $370,000 spent on Rodriguez has been the better investment. The three position players who netted seven-figure bonuses are no longer in the organization, while Lizarraga’s development has stalled in the upper levels. Meantime, Rodriguez made his MLB debut in 2025 after a long, winding path that saw him essentially sidelined for two years with elbow issues. He returned to action in the States in 2024 (2.64 ERA) and rocketed from low Single-A Lake Elsinore to high Single-A Fort Wayne to Double-A San Antonio. That earned Rodriguez an invitation to big-league camp, where he impressed enough to remain longer than others who entered spring training with a higher profile. A bout with an illness ultimately set Rodriguez back a bit and he opened up the season at Double-A San Antonio. There, he penned a 31-to-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 22⅓ innings (3.22 ERA) to earn a late-May call-up. Rodriguez appeared in just one game in that stint, striking out one, walking one and hitting a batter while recording five outs before joining Triple-A El Paso for an up-and-down stint. Rodriguez was good when he was on the mound (3.14 ERA, 11 strikeouts, 5 walks, 14 ⅓ innings), but he missed time with an injury described at different times as a biceps and/or shoulder issues. He missed some two weeks at one point without going on the injured list but later did officially hit the shelf. Rodriguez, however, was back to pitching regularly in September and ultimately recalled to the majors in the middle of the month, finishing with five scoreless appearances after allowing a run in one-third of an inning in his initial return. Rodriguez was the pitcher of record after pitching the 11th inning in a walk-off win that clinched a playoff berth on Sept. 22. Rodriguez was included on the Padres’ NL Wild Card Series roster but he did not appear in any games in Chicago.
2026 OUTLOOK
Finishing his rookie season on the NL Wild Card Series roster says all you need to know about Rodriguez’s standing heading into spring training. He has a leg up in a competition for an opening day spot in the bullpen and has the stuff (see stat to note) to get a chance to fold into the victory formation in the coming years, especially as free agency and/or trades open up spots.
San Diego Padres’ Bradgley Rodriguez on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
ROSTER RANKINGS
18. RHP Bradgley Rodriguez
19. RHP David Morgan
20. C Freddy Fermin
21. LHP Wandy Peralta
22. C Luis Campusano
23. LHP Yuki Matsui
24. INF Sung-Mun Song
25. RHP Matt Waldron
26. OF Bryce Johnson
27. RHP Ron Marinaccio
28. RHP Bryan Hoeing
29. LHP Kyle Hart
30. RHP Jhony Brito
31. INF Will Wagner
32. OF Tirso Ornelas
33. RHP Garrett Hawkins
34. RHP Miguel Mendez
35. RHP Daison Acosta
36. RHP Ty Adcock
37. RHP Alek Jacob
38. INF Mason McCoy
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