The Padres’ Jeremiah Estrada has come a long way since Cubs DFA’d him

Jeremiah Estrada is of two minds at the end of this sophomore season with the Padres.

The right-hander struck out more than 100 batters during the regular season.

But Estrada allowed 12 home runs — three times as many as he did last year. His ERA ballooned to 5.18 over the final two months of the season as he pushed his workload to a career-high 73 innings after a scoreless frame Saturday.

“I feel good,” said Estrada, whose 108 strikeouts lead all MLB relievers. “The body is going to get achy and tired. Everyone here is feeling something.”

The Padres’ bullpen leads the majors with a 3.05 ERA. Three of their relievers were named All-Stars, a first in MLB history. An injury to one of those All-Stars, Jason Adam, has put more on Estrada’s plate.

As such, it is Estrada who enters the postseason as the Padres’ busiest reliever. Not only that, he ranks third in the majors with 77 appearances and is tied for fifth with 30 holds heading into a Wrigley Field homecoming.

The Cubs drafted Estrada in 2017 in the sixth round out of Palm Desert High School, converted him to a reliever after he lost the 2018 season to Tommy John surgery and ultimately brought him to the majors in August 2022.

The 26-year-old Estrada is also of two minds when it comes to the Cubs.

“Wearing that jersey was amazing,” Estrada said. “Being part of that fanbase was amazing. Being part of that organization was amazing. There was just some things … that weren’t going my way.”

Coaches took away his curveball at one point and his change-up at another point. The club optioned him four times over the course of the next year to the point that he had maybe a couple weeks of service time when the Cubs designated him for assignment. It was Nov. 1, 2023 — Estrada’s 25th birthday.

He was ready for the split.

“It just wasn’t a good fit,” Estrada said. “It felt like (like) … one shoe was making your feet curl and the other shoe, you had this much room left (to grow).”

The Padres claimed Estrada a few days later. The reliever vibed immediately with pitching coach Ruben Niebla and bullpen coach Ben Fritz.

“Here, it was, ‘Let me see what you got,’” Estrada said, as opposed to being shoehorned into an organization’s vision that didn’t exactly align with his.

Estrada thrived during spring training in 2024, made the plane for the team’s trip to South Korea and struck out an MLB-record 13 straight batters late that May.

Estrada’s entire up-and-down journey was top of mind again this spring, when the Padres hosted the Cubs at Petco Park.

Estrada struck out two batters in a scoreless inning on April 15, pounding his chest repeatedly as he walked off the mound in what would be a 2-1 Padres win.

The next afternoon, he recorded two three-pitch strikeouts in an eight-pitch seventh inning in a 4-2 Padres win. As he walked off the mound, Estrada stared in the direction of Cubs personnel.

Estrada has struck out six over three hitless innings against his old team this year. He’s almost certain to face them again this week at Wrigley Field.

“It’s not about eff you guys,” Estrada recalled. “It’s about, ‘This is what you guys missed out on.’”