Having gone all-in on their bullpen, hot Padres plan to ride their unique approach to the postseason

When the trade deadline rolls around, San Diego Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller is usually on the hunt for a big deal. And why not? Preller has developed a farm system, regularly ranked in the top five in MLB, that can attract other teams looking to move stars. At the past four deadlines, the Padres have acquired superstars such as Juan Soto and Josh Hader and solid supporting players such as Josh Bell and Brandon Drury.

San Diego took a different approach to its moves this season, yet they’re now the hottest team in baseball, having gone 16-4 since the All-Star break with their eyes firmly on the postseason heading into Tuesday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Relievers were the name of the game for the Padres at the deadline, as they acquired right-hander Jason Adam from the Tampa Bay Rays and southpaw Bryan Hoeing, as well as the best reliever available in left-hander Tanner Scott, from the Miami Marlins.

The Padres already had a respectable bullpen before those moves, with left-handers Yuki Matsui and Adrian Morejon having career years along with newcomer Jeremiah Estrada. The Padres are led in the backend by electric closer Robert Suarez.

The additions of Adam, Hoeing and Scott provide a level of depth that not many teams around baseball can match, and that sets San Diego up well for a run to the postseason.

During the playoffs, especially in the past 20 years, bullpens are critical in determining a team’s success or failure. The leash on starters gets shorter in October, leaving a team’s relief core to cover more outs, with high-leverage situations often coming early in games.

Having Adam, Scott and Suarez to cover the seventh, eighth and ninth innings is a luxury that any team would love to have in the postseason, and it’ll be an advantage for San Diego should it get there. With two months to allow Morejon, Matsui, Estrada and Hoeing to jell, the Padres’ bullpen might be the group that propels San Diego into the postseason.

San Diego has been trying to stay afloat while it figures out what its rotation will look like the rest of the way, following the injury to Joe Musgrove, the absence of Yu Darvish and recent struggles from knuckleballer Matt Waldron. The team even acquired long-time veteran Martín Pérez as additional depth.

If the Padres, who are currently tied for the first NL wild-card spot, reach the postseason, you have to imagine that manager Mike Shildt will take full advantage of his bullpen’s depth in an attempt to take pressure off the rotation.

For the first time in a long time, the Padres left their core of position players untouched at the deadline. And much of that has to do with the reinforcements already being there. Over the past month, the Padres have the sixth-best offense in baseball in terms of runs scored. Manny Machado looks healthy, Xander Boegarts is finally playing like the player the Padres expected him to be, Jurickson Profar has continued to have a career year, and rookie Jackson Merrill has carried the team offensively in recent weeks. Not to mention, Fernando Tatis Jr. is expected back before season’s end.

With San Diego scoring at its current pace and the ability to shorten games with their bullpen, the Padres become a difficult team to beat not only in the postseason but in the rest of the regular season as well.

The Padres have had several iterations of their ballclub over the past few years, and while this version has fewer top-tier names than in years prior, this version might be made for October. San Diego is clearly playing with confidence as of late, and sometimes, that’s all a team needs to make a sustained push to the postseason.