Why re-signing Adrian Morejon is the Padres' biggest off-season priority

The Padres off-season hit sooner than they had hoped after being eliminated by the National League's top seed in the Milwaukee Brewers, who are now World Series champions for the first time in franchise history, following their Game 5 win in Tampa Bay last night.

San Diego's off-season comes with a significant amount of questions. There is a widespread speculation that the team may go after big names in free agency like Tarik Skubal and Brandon Lowe. There are also questions surrounding which Padres free agents the front office should seek to return. 11 players from San Diego's roster this season are set to become unrestricted free agents, with reliever Michael King just opting out of his deal today. Other names include Ty France, Ramón Laureano, Austin Hayes and Walker Buehler. Out of the list of potentially departing free agents, the most important player that the front office should seek to re-sign is left-handed reliever, Adrian Morejon.

Adrian Morejon’s multi-inning workload makes him valuable to the Padres

Adrian Morejon came up, and made his debut with the Padres in 2019 at just 20 years old. In his first three major league seasons, the southpaw struggled to stay healthy, appearing in just 16 games, and starting in eight of them. There was a bit of uncertainty surrounding his small sample size. His strikeout numbers were impressive, though the amount of hits he had allowed were a concern.

In 2022, Morejon finally got his shot at a full season. In 26 games he notched 4.24 ERA across 34 innings with 28 strikeouts, though, he still had not reached his full potential. The next year brought another set back as Morejon was unfortunately forced to miss most of the 2023 season with both elbow and knee injuries. The window for Morejon to impress was getting slim.

Once healthy again, the Cuban native returned to the field for the 2024 season. Morejon pitched in 60 games and had made a name for himself, posting a 2.83 ERA and 71 strikeoutes in 63.2 innings. He continued his elite play in 2025, where he improved his ERA to 2.08, striking out 70 batters and even recorded a career-best .186 opponent batting average. He was also credited with 13 wins on the season, and was named to his first all-star team.

This year was another excellent one for the now 27-year-old. He pitched in 86 innings, which was a career-high, striking out an outstanding 107 batters (30.4% strikeout rate) and allowing just four homers on the season. He also stapled 28 holds, which was tied for 6th best in the majors.

Adrian Morejon and Mason Miller make one of the best one, two bullpen punches in baseball

Speaking of being one of the league leaders in holds for the 2026 season, it makes a good point as to how well he meshed with dominant closer, Mason Miller. Miller placed 3rd in saves, behind just Bryan Baker (Rays) and Cade Smith (Guardians). The flame-throwing closer also registered a 1.67 ERA across 66 games.

There is no doubt that the two build off of each other, compliment each other well, and pair to be one of, if not the best 8th and 9th inning duos in the sport. There is especially something to be said about the faith the two have in each other to feel comfortable about what is to come the inning before/after their appearance (depending on which reliever you are talking about).

Why retaining Morejon is more appealing than other Padres free agents

As mentioned, the Friars are at risk of potentially losing several players in free agency, but none of them are worth re-signing before Morejon. First off, Adrian Morejon is simply more reliable than the other Padres pitchers that are set to be free agents. There was a reason manager, Craig Stammen called Morejon's name more than any other Padre this season. He was consistent, posted impressive stats, and was clutch.

Next is age. Among all Padres slated to be free agents, Morejon is the youngest and just one of three that happen to be under 30 years old. As previously stated, the 5-foot-11 reliever is just 27-years-old, meaning there is a chance he has only scratched the surface of what he is capable of. Nonetheless, he has plenty of years ahead of him to further establish himself as one of the league's great bullpen arms.

Lastly, offering Morejon a return would benefit San Diego in ways beyond re-signing a bat can. The Padres struggled immensely at the plate in the first half of the season, and their pitching staff (more specifically their bullpen) is what kept the team from a total collapse. Had the Friars not had elite and reliable arms like Adrian Morejon and Mason Miller, who knows what direction their season would have gone in?

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