Padres roster review: Kyle Hart

Position(s): Left-handed pitcher
Bats / Throws: Left / Left
2026 opening day age: 33
Height / Weight: 6-foot-5 / 200 pounds
How acquired: Signed as a free agent in November 2025
Contract status: Will made $1 million 2026; contract includes a $200,000 buyout if a $2.5 million team option is not exercised
fWAR in 2025: Minus-0.2
Key 2025 stats: 3-3, 5.86 ERA, 0 saves, 2 holds, 37 strikeouts, 13 walks, 1.19 WHIP, .233 opponent average, 43 innings (20 games, 6 starts)

.529 — Left-handed opponents’ OPS against Hart in 2025, more than 300 points better than he was against righties (.847). All told, Hart allowed a .189/.246/.283 batting line against left-handed hitters while in the majors, but he only managed 57 plate appearances against them as teams stacked right-handed hitters (.255/.320/.527 over 122 plate appearances) as much as they could.

Idle — A 19th-round round pick out of Indiana in 2016, Hart didn’t do much in the States with the Red Sox, Phillies or Mariners so he tried his luck in Korea in 2024. There, he struck out 10.4 batters per nine innings and posted a 2.69 ERA over 26 starts to win the league’s top pitching award. The effort earned Hart a $1 million deal to return to the majors, a contract that included a $5 million club option against a $500,000 buyout. Hart made the opening day roster and won his first start as a Padre, allowing two solo home runs over five innings. He went on to alternate poor and good to decent-ish starts through the rest of April before he was optioned to Triple-A El Paso, where he posted a 4.66 ERA over 63⅔ innings (20 games, 10 starts). Hart returned to the majors for a spot start in late May (4⅔ IP, 5 ER), made three appearances out of the bullpen in July (6 ⅔ IP, 0 ER) and closed the year in the majors with a 5.79 ERA over 9⅓ innings from Aug. 31 through the end of the regular season. Hart ultimately was left off the NL Wild Card Series roster and his club option was not picked up, but the Padres quickly re-signed him to a big-league deal to fortify pitching depth.

The sweeper that Hart fine-tuned, from a lower arm slot, in Korea certainly played in the majors, despite throwing it off a four-seamer with sub-par velocity (91.4 mph). Lefties had an .071 batting average off the sweeper and righties hit .200 off it. Hart was better as a reliever (4.57 ERA, 17⅓ IP) than a starter (6.66 ERA, 25⅔ IP) while in the majors, but he figures to give be a depth option for the bullpen or the rotation heading into 2026.

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Andre Hobbs

San Diego Broker | The Hobbs Valor Group | License ID: 01485241