Mason Miller's paternity absence allowed ex-SF Giants southpaw to join Padres playoff roster

Both NLDS series have been incredibly tight so far and the San Diego Padres kept their season alive on Tuesday night with a win over the Milwaukee Brewers. The big storyline ahead of the game was the fact that San Diego’s closer Mason Miller would not be available due to the birth of his first child. That meant that ex-SF Giants reliever Wandy Peralta replaced Miller on the roster.

Peralta pitched for the Giants from 2019 to 2021 when he was traded to the New York Yankees in exchange for Mike Tauchman. Since that trade Peralta has been a pretty reliable reliever and after signing a four-year, $16.5 million deal with the Padres he’s had a collective 3.51 ERA across three seasons with San Diego.

The fact that the Padres were able to win on Wednesday without Miller and without their next-best reliever Adrian Morejon is pretty impressive. Starter Michael King had to serve as the team’s closer, recording the final six outs of the game in a really impressive performance.

Giants could make a run at some Padres pitchers in the offseason

The Giants might be connected to both Morejon and King in the offseason since Morejon is set to hit free agency and King can opt out of his contract with San Diego.

Both pitchers would be on the higher end of the market which is not where the Giants have historically shopped when looking for free agent pitchers. Maybe they’re both out of San Francisco’s price range.

Still, this whole situation with the Padres is pretty remarkable. Miller has been an elite closer for years now but he blew the save in Game 2 of the series, misses Game 3, and now the hope is he will be back for Game 4.

Giants fans may remember one of the more unlikely moments if the 2026 season came when San Francisco got to Miller in early August and gave him his first blown save of the season. The Giants still lost but it was sort of amazing that they were able to make him look human. He ended 2026 with a 1.67 ERA and only three blown saves on the season in 41 attempts.

Peralta may very well be removed from the roster if Miller comes back for Game 4, but it’s nice to hear a familiar name and this Padres series features some guys who could potentially be connected to the Giants in the offseason. 

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