Padres General Manager Has High Hopes for New Reliever Addition

The San Diego Padres acquired right-hander Enyel De Los Santos from the Cleveland Guardians in exchange for veteran relief pitcher Scott Barlow. They made the move prior to the non-tender deadline and got out from under the money owed to Barlow.

The team has been insistent on shedding salary this offseason, and this was one way to do so. They had been souring on Barlow for next year, and De Los Santos provides them with a cheap option out of the bullpen with a few years of team control.

Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller gave his thoughts on the acquisition and is excited about the possibilities of De Los Santos.

“We’ll see how the ’pen plays out over the course of the next few months,” Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller said Friday night. “But just knowing that he’s been able to take the ball, be durable, fill in a couple of different roles, especially in that setup role, I think we’ll get into spring training and he’ll be able to factor in there. Somewhere seven, eight, nine, honestly.”

Per A.J. Preller via The Athletic

In 70 appearances for the Guardians last season, De Los Santos posted an ERA of 3.29 and a WHIP of 1.14. He doesn’t have much experience in high-leverage situations, but the Padres could use him as a middle-innings reliever going forward.

He has proven to be durable throughout his young career so far, and that is something San Diego was looking for. They dealt with all sorts of injuries a year ago, and are hoping for better luck injury-wise in 2024.

“Last season with Cleveland, De Los Santos made 70 appearances while averaging 95.6 mph with his fastball. He has never been on the injured list in his career.”

Per Dennis Lin of The Athletic

This was a minor move for the Padres, but one that could pay off immensely for them. San Diego has been looking at multiple angles to upgrade their team and will continue to do so for the remainder of the offseason.