The San Diego Padres are coming off an incredible game, in which they trounced the Minnesota Twins, pitching to the tune of 12 runs in a 12-3 blowout win.
It was a much-needed win for San Diego, as they were coming off losing four of their last five games, including the series opener to the Twins. The series finale will determine who wins the series, and for the Padres, it could even them with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West.
Ahead of that final matchup, the Padres announced two roster moves to shake up their pitching staff. With a chance to even up the division, the Padres are recalling a pitcher who’s been up with the team before this season.
Padres Shaking Up Their Pitching Staff
San Diego is recalling left-handed pitcher Kyle Hart and is optioning right-handed pitcher Alek Jacob to Triple-A El Paso to make room on the roster for Hart.
We have recalled LHP Kyle Hart from Triple-A El Paso and optioned RHP Alek Jacob to El Paso.
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 31, 2025
Hart is slated to pitch in the series finale against the Twins on Sunday afternoon, as he’ll take on a potential bulk role coming out of the bullpen.
This season, Hart has a 5.29 ERA in 32.1 innings pitched in nine games. He has 21 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.21, as the 32-year-old is pitching in the Majors for the first time since 2020 with the Boston Red Sox, where he had a 15.55 ERA in four games.
His stint in San Diego has gone significantly better, though he still hasn’t been an incredibly important pitcher for the Padres thanks to their stacked bullpen. Though with the struggles and injuries of the starting rotation, Hart will get a chance to pitch again this season.
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He’s taking Jacob’s roster spot, who is a 27-year-old reliever who has pitched for the Padres each of the last three years. His 5.40 ERA in 26 games this season isn’t the best, but it’s even more difficult to carve out a role in the current bullpen than ever before.
With the addition of Mason Miller and the rest of the bullpen pitching at elite levels, Jacob’s roster spot is far from guaranteed. But, he’s gone scoreless in his last five outings, including two of which went at least two innings long.
The Padres are shaking up their pitching staff heading into the series finale against the Twins, shortly before September begins, when teams can begin to expand their rosters for a postseason push.
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