SAN DIEGO — Bradgley Rodriguez is back in the San Diego Padres bullpen, and made quite a mark with the victory in Monday’s extra-inning win that sent the Padres back to the playoffs.
Padres righty Bradgley Rodriguez has shown off a dangerous arsenal. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
How much longer he’ll be in the mix will be answered in the coming days. For now, though, the hard-throwing right-hander is here to help San Diego in any way he can in the final moments of the 2025 regular season. And in doing so, he is hoping to show why his name belongs on a postseason roster.
“I’m thankful to this coaching staff that they were able to put me in this position to have success and contribute to this team. It means the world to me,” said Rodriguez through Padres translator Pedro Gutierrez, hours before he recorded the final out in the Padres’ playoff-clinching win Monday. “We have great vibes here in the clubhouse, and we’re here trying to chase something. I’m just grateful to be a part of this run.”
Injury and a Tweak in Arm Angle
Rodriguez underwent Tommy John surgery prior to the 2022 season, then had a meteoric rise from the DSL to the big leagues in just over 17 months. So, when the 21-year-old exited a June 9 outing in El Paso with trainers by his side this summer, there was understandable concern.
Fortunately for Rodriguez and the Padres, the diagnosis was just biceps tightness.
“At first, there’s a bit of doubt. You don’t know what’s going on. You don’t know what’s going to happen,” said Rodriguez, “But after I was told it was nothing serious, I just tried to get stronger, get better, and get on that healthy side. Ultimately, it worked out.”
Bradgley Rodriguez generates big power in his delivery. (Photo: Rey Holguin)
In an effort to mitigate the risk of further injury, Rodriguez made a change in his arm slot. For the bulk of his time in Triple-A, Rodriguez threw from a very over-the-top 56-degree arm angle. Since returning from injury, he has dropped down closer to three-quarters, throwing from an average of 50 degrees since September 13.
“That was something that the coaching staff talked to me about – going to a different angle – knowing that throwing over the top at the velocity that I do was a high risk for me in the long run,” said Rodriguez. “We were able to work on it. I think the whole process was natural. The results were better throwing on the three-quarter side. Everything has been a whole lot smoother for me ever since.”
Getting outs at the big league level
After a strong showing in big league spring training to open the year, Rodriguez opened the year in San Antonio. By the end of May, he jumped to the the Majors for one appearance, before heading to El Paso in June. In all, he has thrown 36.2 minor league innings on the year.
In the minors, he was a strikeout artist, posting a stellar 34.8% of the batters he faced in Double-A. While strikeouts have still been there in his brief MLB tenure, Rodriguez admits’ he’s had to make adjustments to how he pitches hitters at the highest level.
“The biggest difference is execution,” said Rodriguez, “In the majors, velocity doesn’t really matter if you don’t execute your pitches. In the minors you could get away with stuff and misses because there is a lot of young players. There is a bit more of a balance there. Here, you have to stay on top of hitters, understand what their strengths and weaknesses are, and pitch toward that.”
Rodriguez’s ability to battle and recenter against major league hitters has already been tested a number of times since he was recalled earlier this month. When Rodriguez worked 1.1 innings at Citi Field against the Mets on September 16, his stuff flashed as he struck out Cedric Mullins and Brett Baty.
During that outing, Rodriguez also plunked Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez on a 1-1 fastball, drawing the ire of the Mets’ bench. It’s a moment in a rowdy environment where perhaps a young pitcher could let things unravel.
Instead, the 21-year-old bounced back by striking out Mullins with a 3-2 changeup to end the inning.
“It was a hit-by-pitch, followed by three straight balls. But you relax, take a breather, and get back on the mound and go execute your pitch,” said Rodriguez, “For me it’s all about taking it one pitch at a time. I can’t do anything about the pitch that already happened. I can’t worry about the pitch that’s coming up next. It’s one pitch at a time and that’s when I’m able to get that competitive advantage.”
Audition For October
With only four games remaining in the regular season and having clinched a postseason birth in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2005-2006, the Padres still have the matter of figuring out who will fill out the bullpen in the playoffs.
Monday night’s performance while he continued to show some of the best raw stuff on the staff, made for a compelling case on Rodriguez’s behalf to have one of the roster spots.
While swings and misses have been a bit less frequent at the highest level, Rodriguez has still shown an innate ability to get a ground ball early on. His 53.8% ground ball rate in his 5.1 big league innings tracks with his 57.3% rate in 36.2 minor league innings.
Those grounders and soft contact can largely be attributed to his fastball and sinker. Rodriguez’s sinker sits at 98.9 mph with an excellent 15.3 inches of horizontal movement. The four-seamer sits 98.6 with a flat vertical approach angle of -4.6 and 8.4 inches arm side run that’s almost 10% more than the average right-hander’s fastball.
Facing Jackson Chourio with the bases loaded and one out in the 11th Monday, Rodriguez turned to that 70-grade four-seamer, helping him induce the biggest double play ball of his life.
“We know what we have in Bradgley,” said Padres pitching coach Ruben Niebla postgame. “He has great stuff, electric stuff, he’s got a pitch mix to get both righties and lefties out. This is a guy we’re going to be evaluating. You know we like him a lot, and we weren’t hesitant to put him in that position.”
“He’s got an electric arm and he made a quality pitch for a double play,” said Padres manager Mike Shildt. “You’ve got to win a lot of different ways, but we have player development for a reason. So being able to bring your own guys up and be able to contribute is really important, and we have had that this year.”
