San Diego Padres reliever Hoeing undergoes elbow surgery, ruled out for 2026 season

San Diego Padres relief right-handed pitcher Bryan Hoeing will undergo surgery to repair a right arm flexor tendon, confirming his absence for the 2026 season. Padres manager Craig Stammen announced this news on Friday.

Hoeing was originally one of the contenders for the final spots in the Padres bullpen. He first felt discomfort in his right elbow during a live batting practice session in late February.

Hoeing came to San Diego from the Miami Marlins in a trade at the 2024 deadline, alongside Tanner Scott. He performed excellently late in that season, posting a 1.52 ERA over 18 appearances, seemingly ready to take on a significant role in the Padres bullpen.

However, Hoeing's pitching time has been repeatedly interrupted by injuries since then. Last season, he missed the first half due to a shoulder strain and only appeared in 7 MLB games the entire year.

“It’s unfortunate, because he could have been an important part of our bullpen, handling various roles,” Stammen said. “The version of him we saw in the 2024 playoffs made our team, our bullpen better—he fit in so well, it really felt like having an ace in the bullpen.”

Of course, the Padres possess one of the deepest bullpens in the league and should have sufficient personnel to cover Hoeing's absence. For example, Logan Gillaspie has stood out this spring training and, like Hoeing, can pitch multiple innings.

Nevertheless, injury issues before the season opener are testing this team's depth. Whether right-handed pitcher Jason Adam (left quadriceps surgery) and left-handed pitcher Yuki Matsui (left groin strain) can be on the Opening Day roster remains uncertain—though both have begun mound work and their returns shouldn't be too far behind the opener.

Regardless, the Padres' Opening Day bullpen currently has three vacant spots—and Hoeing is no longer an option for one of them. Pitchers in camp like Gillaspie, Bradley Rodriguez, Kyle Hart, Ty Adcock, and Garrett Hawkins are competing for these spots. Ron Marinaccio and Alek Jacob, currently playing for Italy in the World Baseball Classic, are also in contention.