The San Diego Padres actually made a player move today. We’ll pause to let that sink in for a moment, but don’t get too excited. The Padres didn’t actually add a player, but they did sign a reliever who could play a key role in their offseason or next season.
Whichever one of those two things occurs, there’s little doubt that Adrian Morejon is a key figure, and he signed a one-year, $3.9 million deal with the Padres yesterday. The report on this came from NBCSports.com, which pulled its information from a variety of sources.
Morejon’s career as a reliever took a while to take off, as the report notes, but he had a big year this year. He finished with a 2.83 ERA in 63-2/3 innings in 2024, then followed that with an even better performance, pitching 73-2/3 innings last year.
Those 73+ innings were a big part of the San Diego’s success formula this year. The Padres went to their bullpen early and often, and Morejon was often first up in a chain that included fellow reliever Mason Miller and closer Robert Suarez. Suarez is gone now, having signed in free agency by he Atlanta Braves, which means the Padres will probably lean even harder on Morejon this year.
The reliever has also been a key figure in trade discussions, mostly due to the fact that the Padres are up for sale. They need to fill some holes, and the bullpen is one of the few areas where they have talent to trade, so Morejon and Miller have both been mentioned lately.
Morejon’s age is also a factor in the trade talks, even though he’ll still be just 27 in February. But he’s only one year away from free agency, mostly due to the fact that the reliever has spent considerable time on the injured list earlier in the decade, according to the report.
Signing this contract could be the prelude to a possible deal, which would be bad news for Padres fans unless GM A.J. Preller can hoodwink someone into giving back a huge return for either Morejon or Miller.
The Padres haven’t made any major moves to date, but they do have several significant holes to fill. Having to trade a pitcher like Morejon would be a shame, but the Padres are up against it with a payroll limit of about $200 million, and Morejon is one of the few tradable pieces they have right now.