Padres give Adrian Morejon $23 million reasons to accept qualifying offer

The Padres put $23.15 million on the table for Adrian Morejon. We’d suggest he find a pen immediately. We see low odds that he’d walk away from that one-year offer. Free agency is supposed to be the moment a player finally gets to hear how much everybody else appreciates him. Morejon can still enjoy those conversations. But somebody will have to make a convincing argument for walking away from that much guaranteed money for one season in San Diego.

We should expect him to accept. And the Padres should be building their offseason around that possibility. Still, the qualifying offer gives him an extraordinary starting point. Take the money, stay somewhere familiar and have another chance to enter free agency next offseason. There’s risk in that approach, but the paycheck makes it considerably easier to stomach.

Adrian Morejon’s qualifying offer reaches the top of the relief market

Put the number next to the biggest annual commitment a reliever has commanded.

Edwin Díaz’s three-year, $69 million agreement with the Dodgers carries a headline average annual value of $23 million, a record for a relief pitcher. Morejon’s qualifying offer would exceed that figure by $150,000 for one season. Díaz’s contract includes deferrals, so this is a comparison of the stated contract values. Even with that distinction, the neighborhood is pretty exclusive.

We can appreciate his importance and still acknowledge how enormous that commitment would be. At $23.15 million, the Padres would be paying a setup man at the very top of the relief market. They had better love the possibility of getting him back.

The appeal for Morejon is obvious. He wouldn’t have to change organizations and he could collect a massive salary while trying to strengthen his case for the longer deal.

A sufficiently strong multiyear offer could change things. Until one arrives, though, we shouldn’t talk ourselves into believing he needs to leave this opportunity behind just because free agency offers more doors to open.

The Padres should reopen the starting conversation

If Morejon accepts, there’s another conversation worth having before everyone packs for spring training.

Would he consider preparing as a starter?

That idea has a history. Morejon and the Padres previously left open the possibility of a future return to starting. At $23 million, let’s just say it’s a conversation worth revisiting.

The salary gives San Diego a reason to examine how much value Morejon could provide across more innings. A successful move would give the Padres another rotation option and give Morejon a chance to reach his next trip through free agency with a different kind of résumé.

Of course, paying him more doesn’t magically prepare his arm for a starter’s workload. But he did pitch 86 innings in relief in 2026. He’s shown he can handle a rigorous workload. The pitching staff would need to evaluate his durability, repertoire and ability to work through a lineup repeatedly. Morejon would need to want the assignment, too.

We should have the conversation. There’s too much potential value to wave it away without a fresh look. First, though, comes the decision sitting in front of him.

Morejon has every right to explore his market. We’d expect his representatives to do exactly that. But $23.15 million for another year in San Diego is a powerful answer to whatever they find.

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