Padres shut down Bryan while his elbow bothered him

Padres right-handed Bryan Hoeing will likely miss the start of the season, according to a report from Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. According to Acee, Hoeing is experiencing some discomfort in his throwing elbow and has been sidelined by San Diego. Acee added that pitching coach Ruben Niebla was optimistic early on about the severity of the injury.

“We don’t think it’s as serious (as it could be), but we need to be aware of it and look at it and be able to make the right assessments,” Niebla told reporters, as relayed by Acee.

More details on Hoeing’s status and timeline for return will certainly be available in the coming days, once the team has had a chance to have Hoeing’s elbow looked at. Either way, it makes sense for the Padres to be extremely cautious with Hoeing at this point, given the damaging effects a serious elbow injury can have on a player’s career. That’s especially true for the 29-year-old Hoeing, who threw just eight innings in 2025 due to shoulder problems that sidelined him for much of the 2025 season.

Despite last year’s injury-plagued campaign, Hoeing figures to be firmly in the Padres’ bullpen mix when healthy. He enjoyed a breakout campaign with the Marlins in 2024, which got even better after he was traded (alongside Tanner Scott) to San Diego at that year’s trade deadline. The righty has a 2.34 ERA in 61 2/3 innings of work since the start of the 2024 season, and has posted an excellent 1.99 ERA in 25 appearances as a member of the Padres. While not exactly a strikeout pitcher, a 50.3% groundball rate at a paltry 19.5% more than makes up for the lack of whiffs. That, combined with a manageable walk rate, has led to even more advanced stats like SIERA (3.77) being generally impressed with his work over the past two years, despite their general preference for pitchers with high strikeout rates.

Of course, in a stacked Padres bullpen that likely left Hoeing in position to receive only middle relief work, as the late innings will be handled by a combination of Mason Miller, Adrian Morejon, Jeremiah Estrada, Jason AdamAnd David Morgan. Hoeing could theoretically work his way into that mix with another big year like 2024, but for now it seems more likely he’ll play the middle innings alongside Matsui if the pair is healthy. Matsui has also been sidelined recently due to an adductor injury, but Acee suggests the 30-year-old southpaw is likely to be ready for the start of the season earlier than Hoeing. Comments from Niebla seem to confirm this, as the team’s pitching coach actually suggested Matsui could start from the mound later this week.