Story by
Phillies' Adrian Morejon Dreams May Have Just Crashed
- Story by
- Phillies' Adrian Morejon Dreams May Have Just Crashed
The Philadelphia Phillies need bullpen help perhaps more than any other contender in baseball, and they intend to acquire it this winter.
The Phillies' top target in that area could be Adrian Morejon , who just put together three incredible seasons for the San Diego Padres.
Advertisement
Most recently, Morejon posted a 2.83 ERA and 11.2 K/9 in 2026, allowing just 65 hits over 86 innings of work.
The problem? The Padres just extended a qualifying offer to Morejon, and while he almost certainly won't accept it, it now means Philadelphia will have to pay a steep penalty in addition to an expensive contract if it does sign him.
Should the Phillies land Morejon, it would cost them draft compensation and international bonus pool money, which should not be taken lightly.
Philadelphia is a team that has been widely criticized — and rightfully so — for not properly developing from within, and if it decides to add Morejon, that would put the Phillies in an even larger role in terms of organizational development.
Advertisement
The question is whether Philadelphia would be willing to sacrifice its farm system once again for an established veteran. It's the Dave Dombrowski way, and it always has been, but even Dombrowski recently admitted that the Phils probably need to do a better job with their minor-league system.
Right now, infielder Aidan Miller and pitcher Gage Wood are the two only genuinely elite-level prospects the Phillies have. Some of their farmhands — such as second baseman Aroon Escobar — have proven to be significant disappointments, but otherwise, Philadelphia has simply done a poor job of drafting.
Fixing that will become more difficult if you lose more draft picks and fork over money to sign international talent.
So, is Morejon worth it?
Advertisement
Don Mattingly didn't have any relievers he could trust outside of Alex McFarlane and Jhoan Duran down the stretch this past season. Adding Morejon into the mix would obviously change things quite a bit.
A late-inning duo of Morejon and Duran would be among baseball's best, and when you couple that with Philly's dynamic starting rotation, the Phillies would have the capacity to shut opposing offenses down for nine frames.
It's enticing, to say the least, but Morejon is also expected to land a huge contract, with some projecting that the 27-year-old could secure a deal worth around $100 million .
Considering all of the other needs Philadelphia has and just how bloated its payroll already is, you do have to wonder if Dombrowski would be comfortable allocating that much money to a setup man.
The Phillies are perpetually in win-now mode, but how they go about it this winter is one of baseball's biggest conundrums.
