5 pitchers who could help Padres' bullpen

LOS ANGELES -- A season ago, the Padres' bullpen wasn't merely one of the best in baseball. It was one of the most valuable relief corps of all-time.

The group combined for the sixth highest WAR of any bullpen in baseball history, according to FanGraphs. That was at least partly because a slumping rotation left so many innings to cover at the back end of games. But it was mostly because the San Diego bullpen was legitimately dominant.

That feels like ages ago. The Padres' relief corps had combined to post a 4.95 ERA this season entering play Friday night. That's the second-highest mark in franchise history and 24th in the Majors this year.

The losses of Jose Castillo and Aaron Loup to injury, Matt Strahm to the rotation and Brad Hand and Adam Cimber via trade have proven too much to overcome. Still, the Friars are optimistic they have the ingredients for a solid relief corps in house.

"Within our organization, we have enough pieces to have a great bullpen," said Padres manager Andy Green. "Some of [the inconsistency] is the flux of the season. Some of that is waiting for some young arms to show up here and be a part of that mix."

Green might be onto something. With that in mind, here's a look at five pitchers who could help solve the Padres' growing bullpen crisis:

1. Matt Strahm

Strahm spent the first half of the season in the rotation. It's unclear where he'll open the second. The 27-year-old left-hander has struggled in his last five starts, and he's coming off a 2018 season in which he posted a 2.05 ERA in 41 relief appearances.

Coincidentally, there's no bigger flaw in the Padres' bullpen than its utter lack of shutdown lefties. With Brad Wieck and Robbie Erlin playing the most prominent roles, Padres lefty relievers have posted a 5.40 ERA this season.

2. Luis Perdomo

No joke: Perdomo had a serious case to be named Reliever of the Month in June. He allowed one run in 19 1/3 innings, while posting a sub-1.00 WHIP. He found success with his four-seamer (as he moved away from his power sinker), and his swing-and-miss slider played nicely off that.

The thing is, Perdomo has tantalized before. He broke out in 2016 as a Rule 5 Draft pick, only to spend two seasons shuttling between the Minors and Majors. In his outing against the Giants on Wednesday, Perdomo was on the wrong end of some comically bad luck. But he also let things spiral quickly afterward -- an issue that has plagued him in all four of his big league seasons.

3. Jose Castillo

There's an argument to be made that Castillo's flexor strain was one of the most impactful moments of the Padres' season. They've spent three-plus months without one of their most important relief weapons. Castillo held lefties to a .353 OPS as a rookie last season, and he proved himself capable of pitching in multiple situations.

Well, Castillo is on the mend. He threw a bullpen session on Thursday and has at least one more before he returns to a rehab stint. There's some cause for concern, given that Castillo had a setback in his last rehab stint and was shut down. But the Padres are optimistic he can rehab his way to full health. If Castillo returns to his 2018 form, the bullpen would take on an entirely different look.

4. Gerardo Reyes

Reyes was recalled Thursday and proceeded to work two scoreless frames with four strikeouts against some big-name Dodgers hitters. He's put forth several dominant performances like that already this season. Yet his ERA sits above 10.00.

The Padres feel as though Reyes had become too predictable. He threw the same pitches in all the same counts, so they asked him to alter his patterns. If hitters are truly guessing, it's possible his stuff takes over from there. Reyes' fastball is averaging 97.1 mph this season, and his slider whiff rate is 47 percent. Clearly, there's a lot to work with.

5. Andres Munoz

When Green noted that the Padres are "waiting for some young arms," he might as well have mentioned Munoz by name. The righty flame-thrower routinely sits in the upper-90s with his fastball, and he owns a tricky slider to go along with it. The biggest question surrounding the Padres' No. 20 prospect has always been his control. It's gotten significantly better this season. Munoz has walked three hitters since the start of June, and he's struck out 15.

It's a matter of when, not if, Munoz earns his promotion this season. Is he the answer the bullpen woes in San Diego? By himself, probably not. But if the Padres can piece together valuable contributions from three or four of these pitchers, their bullpen might begin to resemble the 2018 edition.