One of the biggest elements of the San Diego Padres' success this past regular season also proved to be part of their downfall in October: the bullpen.
Throughout the regular season, the starting rotation was not effective and was unable to go deep into the games.
Part of the problem can be attributed to Joe Musgrove's recovery from Tommy John surgery delaying his season debut until the wild-card round (when the assumption was to be ready by Opening Day), plus Nick Pivetta missing nearly five months due to elbow complications. However, for the most part, the starters created an environment that heavily relied on the bullpen.
While the bullpen continued to dominate during the regular season, it was clear that they were stretched too thin come the postseason, something exposed by the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Division Series.
Mason Miller rightfully collected most of the bullpen attention over the regular season as he carried a scoreless innings streak from the season prior up to a franchise-record 34.2 innings. He also has a 101.4 mph fastball that made each appearance must-see-TV, but was just one piece of a relief pitching puzzle that threw the second-most innings in MLB and had the fifth-lowest ERA during the regular season.
Among the highly-regarded crew, 27-year-old left-hander Adrian Morejon has been one of the most effective hurlers on the team across the last three seasons. Thus, he must be the first move the front office makes this offseason as he heads to free agency this winter.
Padres Must Bring Back Adrian Morejon This Offseason
Morejon tossed a 2.83 ERA this season across a career-high 86 innings of work. He is amon the league's best in most advanced stats, including chase-percentage (99th percentile), swing-and-miss (97th), ground ball generation (98th) and a average fastball velocity (99th at 99.4 mph).
Morejon has been in the organization since 2016, and debuted in 2019 as a 20-year-old. The Friars are the only team he has ever known, but he is in line for a massive pay day compared to the $3.4 million he played this past season on.
Despite being a middle-reliever, Dennis Lin of The Athletic wrote that Morejon "could attract nine-figure offers from other clubs" during free agency this offseason from teams that will have no problem paying him like a closer, or even a potential starting pitcher.
Morejon spoke after the NLDS about the emotions he felt knowing the reality that he may have pitched his final frame as a Padre. When asked if he wants to stay in San Diego, he told reporters that “everybody knows that" before discussing the money side of professional baseball.
“I feel sad because I don’t want to say goodbye,” Morejon said. “But it’s business, and let’s see what happens during the offseason.”
Re-signing someone like Morejon not only keeps a core piece of one of baseball's best bullpen's together, but it obviously ensures that Padres bats won't have to face him. The one-two punch of Morejon and Miller make the Friars virtually unbeatable if they hold a lead going into the eighth.
If the front office can find a way to bring more efficient starting pitching into the mix, perhaps the lessened stress on the bullpen in October will lead to a deeper run in 2027.
But that all starts with the bullpen being whole — and it wouldn't be without Morejon.
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