Padres' Reliever Continues To Deliver Despite Increased Workload

The San Diego Padres rallied from a three-run deficit in the eighth inning of last night’s matchup, ultimately securing a pivotal 5-4 home victory. The offense deserves credit for the four-run explosion in the bottom of the eighth, but reliever Adrian Morejon's work should be just as praised.

The left-handed flamethrower entered the game in the ninth for a save opportunity, and he quickly retired the side in just seven pitches, while striking out Nationals hitter Yohandy Morales. With Mason Miller holding down the closing role, it was just Morejon’s third save of the year, but his impact on this Padres bullpen cannot be overstated.

Morejon has already thrown a career-high 78 ⅔ innings in 2026, with the rest of the month still to go. Despite his higher workload, the 27-year-old has maintained a 2.86 ERA and 2.42 FIP while striking out 11 batters per nine innings.

San Diego has relied even more heavily on the Cuban pitcher this past week, calling on him four times in just five days. In three of those four appearances, Morejon threw five strikeouts while not allowing a run. His September 6 outing against the New York Yankees is the lone exception to what has otherwise been a perfect stretch of form for the southpaw.

It’s indicative of a monstrous year as a whole for Morejon, who really only struggled in the first month of the season. Since the start of May, he hasn’t posted an ERA over 2.57 in any single month, with his best month coming in August where he allowed just one run in 16 ⅔ innings.

While he’s already allowed four in September, you can count on Morejon to continue to be called on late in close games. The Padres remain just half a game out of a postseason spot, and manager Craig Stammen is relying on his best players to get them over that line. Morejon’s increased usage may hurt his numbers at face value, but it’s easy to understand why he’s being called out there multiple nights in a row.

Morejon’s 99.5 mph sinker is one of the best in the game among left-handers, but his changeup has been the real knee-buckler this season. Throwing it almost exclusively to right-handed hitters, Morejon has held batters to a .169 average and an even better .122 expected average. It’s drawing a ton of swings and misses as well, recording a 54.4 whiff rate on the year.

His 92nd-percentile pitching run value has aided the Padres in having the third-best bullpen ERA this season and recording more strikeouts than any other bullpen in baseball. When it’s a close game in the late innings, having to deal with Morejon and Miller is a nightmare for any opposing lineup.

With just a few weeks remaining to get back into that postseason position, the Padres will need to continue to rely on their star bullpen duo with the season on the line. For now, Morejon is certainly doing his part.