Padres keeping Adrian Morejon only makes sense if a contract extension comes next

It sounds like the Padres have changed their tune on Adrian Morejon. That’s perfectly fine is so. Their next move needs to change along with it. Morejon spent most of this month looking like one of the most obvious trade candidates on the roster. The Padres were stuck around .500 and  their playoff chances were fading. Trading him made sense. But then the Padres started winning. 

They’ve won eight of its last nine games and pulled within one game of the final NL Wild Card spot. Morejon punctuated that surge Sunday by recording a four-out save against the Giants while Mason Miller was unavailable. He entered with the tying run on third, struck out Willy Adames and finished the job in the ninth.

Suddenly, the conversation around Morejon has shifted. Manager Craig Stammen even said he can’t envision a Padres bullpen without the left-hander.

Padres can’t treat Adrian Morejon like a rental they refuse to trade

Keeping Morejon for a playoff push is the right call. The Padres’ bullpen is their biggest weapon, and breaking up the Morejon-Miller combo while sitting one game out would send a miserable message to the clubhouse.

Those two can erase the final three innings of a close game. If the Padres reach October, Morejon could be every bit as important as another starter or bat acquired at the deadline.

We understand why they would lose interest in trading him. That’s not complicated. The problem comes after the season.

Morejon is scheduled to become a free agent. Once Monday’s deadline passes, the Padres lose their opportunity to turn him into younger talent, or fill a hole elsewhere. If they miss the playoffs and Morejon walks, the Padres will have sacrificed his trade value for a failed two-month push.

That can’t be the entire plan. The Padres are deciding that Morejon’s present value is worth more than the prospects they could receive for him. Then they should also decide that his future belongs with them. Keeping him now only makes complete sense if a serious contract extension follows.

Adrian Morejon has already made the Padres’ job easier

Morejon has openly said he wants to remain with the organization he joined more than a decade ago.

“Everybody knows that I want to stay here,” Morejon said Sunday, according to MLB.com.

Players don’t always hand teams that kind of opening. The Padres should use it.

He’s 27 years old, throws harder than nearly every left-handed pitcher in baseball and has developed into a trusted late-inning weapon. He isn’t replaceable-level. The Padres invested years in his development, stuck with him through injuries and finally watched him become the pitcher they believed they were signing in 2016.

Letting him reach the open market without a firm extension push would waste that entire history. He wouldn’t be cheap. Reliable late-inning pitching is expensive, especially from the left side. But the Padres have already told us how much they value him. They are willing to reject the chance to improve their starting rotation because they believe they need him for this run. If so, maybe it’s time to pay up.

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