Padres' meltdown in Toronto all but confirms this bullpen ace was a mirage

At one point this season, the San Diego Padres had the best bullpen in all of Major League Baseball. They were perfect in save opportunities, and also had the best marks in ERA, batting average against, among other crucial pitching metrics.

However, the bullpen is starting to take a dip in production. It happens, expectedly, but the Friars are starting to crumble all over the field, losing six straight games. They were swept by the Seattle Mariners and the Toronto Blue Jays, and part of that is due to the relief staff, who have dropped to 11th in ERA in the bigs. Left-hander Adrian Morejon is not to fully blame, but his recent struggles have definitely not helped the Padres get back on track.

Padres reliever Adrian Morejon is coming back down to earth

Again, it's not only Morejon to blame. Wandy Peralta had a meltdown against his former team in the Bronx, and he was once as reliable as Morejon. But Morejon was lights out, allowing just one run in his first 10 outings of the 2025 season.

The 26-year-old flame-thrower had scattered just sevn hits over that span, and since then, he's been struggling. Over his last 2 1/3 innings, dating back to May 6, Morejon has handed out seven hits, nine runs across five appearances. The Padres won just one time in these five outings.

Morejon is a career Padre. He's been in the big leagues since 2019, but he really broke through last year. Boasting a 2.83 ERA in 2024 with a dozen holds, Friars fans were excited to have him back alongside Robert Suarez, Jason Adam, and Yuki Matsui.

Maybe he's just in a rut, but it took him a few years to fully figure it out against MLB hitting. Hopefully he'll find his way back to dominance. The season is by no means solely riding on Morejon's success and failure, but if he can be a reliable arm once again, that is a huge step in the right direction for a struggling club.