Padres News: Adrian Morejón raises concern, Jhony Brito optioned, Blake Hunt DFA’d

The Padres officially activated Nick Pivetta from the 60-day IL on September 7. They optioned Jhony Brito to Triple-A El Paso and DFA’d Blake Hunt in their corresponding moves. Pivetta gave the Padres a convincing first step Monday. Making his first major-league start in nearly five months, he held the Nationals scoreless for five innings. He allowed two hits, struck out two and did not issue a walk, completing his afternoon after 63 pitches.

Five innings still left four for the bullpen, so the larger problem hasn’t disappeared. His return at least showed immediate promise, and gave San Diego’s roster shuffle a clear purpose.

Padres choose Nick Pivetta’s innings over Jhony Brito’s flexibility

Brito was the easy part of this transaction. He had an option remaining, and the Padres needed an active-roster spot for Pivetta. It’s not exactly for lack of production. Brito went simply because he could go.

After UCL internal brace and flexor tendon surgery wiped out his entire 2025 season, Brito fought his way back and looked like a legit major-league option. He recorded a 3.00 ERA and 0.89 WHIP over nine innings for San Diego, striking out six and walking one across five relief appearances. His complete minor-league season has been solid, posting a 3.11 ERA over 66 2/3 innings.

Sure, these are samples equivalent to a cup of coffee, but Brito showed the Padres what they needed to see. He can cover multiple innings, command the zone and keep a game from getting away. They still get to keep Brito in the organization. They also removed one of their most obvious length options from the bullpen. Pivetta must stay sharp to make this move worth it.

Blake Hunt’s DFA is a real gamble for the Padres

The 27-year-old catcher hit .301/.381/.617 with 11 home runs and 32 RBIs in 42 games for El Paso. To be fair, we know the Pacific Coast League can inflate offensive numbers. Still, a .998 OPS is nothing to sneeze at. Hunt is a reliable backup defensive catcher, he didn’t really have an honest shot at cutting it in the Padres major league catching room.

He appeared in two games, received three plate appearances and struck out each time. Three at-bats cannot tell us whether Hunt belongs in the majors. They barely tell us he remembered where the batter’s box was. His second chapter with the Padres could now end almost immediately after his debut. The Padres originally drafted Hunt in 2017 before including him in the Blake Snell trade three years later. He returned to the organization last winter, climbed the ranks through 552 minor-league games and finally reached the majors in June.

Another organization could see a productive Triple-A catcher with some pop and decide he is worth a claim. Or, the Padres could have the opportunity to keep him stashed in their organization.

Adrian Morejón’s workload makes Pivetta’s return even more important

Adrian Morejón’s eighth inning against the Yankees on Sunday was rough. Three hits, one walk and an ill-advised throw produced three runs, although only two were earned. Most of the contact was pretty weak, including an 83 mph ground-ball double. Morejón finished the inning, preserved Mason Miller for the ninth and watched the Padres escape with a 4-3 victory.

The chaotic inning can truly be thrown away, but there are a couple things we should look at. Morejón has thrown a career-high 76 2/3 innings across 66 appearances while carrying a 2.93 ERA. He has worked more than one inning 24 times, five more multi-inning appearances than he made all last season. The Padres have squeezed enormous value out of him. However, it may be time to start protecting it. 

Keep Morejón in high-leverage situations, but the Padres might want to trim the number of outs they ask him to cover. A pitcher this important shouldn’t be responsible for cleaning up every mess and then returning to handle the next inning in full. Their bullpen workload gets messy when its starters fail to provide six innings consistently, but if the Padres reach the playoffs, they will need Morejón at his best. Exhausting him now may leave them without that version when it matters most.

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