One of the most important puzzle pieces for the San Diego Padres this offseason rests on the left arm of middle reliever Adrian Morejon.
His clasification is important here because he is not expected to be paid as a middle reliever this winter. In fact, the 27-year-old flamethrower had a season so effective that it's expected to put him in the upper echelon of free agent deals handed out in the coming months.
Morejon has been predicted to land a potential $100 million contract for his talents. At the price, there's a worry it won't be with San Diego: a place that after being eliminated in the National League Division Series last month, Morejon said "everybody knows that" he wants to return.
For the kind of money being thrown around, Morejon can very well be the closer on a different team, and continue to be an elite bullpen staple for years to come.
Padres insider Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune predicted some more unfortunate news, not providing a sense of hope for a team that has plenty of holes to fill to avoid metaphorical sinking in 2027.
Morejon has about two weeks to decide if he wants to accept the qualifying offer of one-year, $23.15 presented by the Padres, but Acee doesn't see the acceptance of a short-term, albeit lucrative, offer.
"If the low-end projection of $15 million a year ends up being his market, perhaps the Padres can be players to keep the left-hander who has thrown more innings (223.1) in relief over the past three seasons than any pitcher in the major leagues," Acee wrote.
"But there are others projecting something like a three-year deal for more than $70 million for the 27-year-old Morejon. ... That is likely too rich for a team that also needs to add/retain at least a couple of starting pitchers to place atop its rotation."
The latter will likely be more of a reason for the end of the Morejon-Padres union.
The 2026 campaign proved more than enough reasons as to why investing in an elite bullpen is a fruitless task when the starting rotation is in shambles. Padres starting pitchers pitched the fourth-fewest innings in MLB this season, and though it translated to a succesful regular season, the cracks were starting to show towards the end of September and proved too costly in October.
If the Morejon money is used more efficiently throughout the pitching roster, his departure will surely sting, but perhaps 2027 will be a season far less reliant on the bullpen as a result.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/padres/onsi as Padres Could Lose Adrian Morejon For Unfortunate Reason .
