Padres' Adrian Morejon Floated as Top Trade Candidate Ahead of Deadline

The San Diego Padres desperately need reinforcements for the starting rotation.

It was already worrisome when the Padres revealed Joe Musgrove would begin the season on the injured list after suffering a setback this spring in his recovery. But things looked like they could begin to implode after Opening Day starter Nick Pivetta landed on the IL with a flexor strain in his elbow.

Currently, the Padres rotation consists of Michael King, Randy Vásquez, Walker Buehler, Germán Marquez and Matt Waldron. While the unit's frontline starters have pitched well enough, the back-end of the rotation needs some work.

Griffin Canning, who signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal with the Padres in the winter, is expected to return sooner rather than later from the injured list as he is already making rehab starts at Triple-A.

But the Padres lack depth, and one way they can quickly change that is via trade.

President of baseball operations A.J. Preller doesn't have much resources in the farm system to offer in a deal, which means the front office will have to get creative in potentially consummating a deal.

That is why All-Star reliever Adrian Morejón is being floated as a top trade candidate, given the current state of the Padres rotation.

ESPN's David Schoenfield believes the Friars will have to give up Morejón in order to bolster their ailing rotation.

"The San Diego rotation was already razor-thin before Nick Pivetta suffered a flexor strain in his right elbow. With one of the weakest farm systems in the majors, however, general manager A.J. Preller will have to get creative to make a deal, but if anyone can do it, he's the guy. (Or maybe he just signs Lucas Giolito.)," Schoenfield writes.

"That might mean dealing from the team's strength to help acquire a starter or a hitter. Morejon has been hit around so far, but he was one of the top lefty relievers during the past two seasons and made the All-Star team in 2025. Because he's a free agent, the Padres might look to flip him."

Morejón is sporting a 6.75 ERA with 10 strikeouts across 10.2 innings of work this season. He's quickly turned around his early-season struggles, as he was the proponent of some bad luck.

Teams in need of a reliever would absolutely be interested in a stud like the left-hander; however, the Padres may not want to move him, even if he's entering free agency at the end of the year.

If the Padres don't want to move someone like Morejón, they could still aid the rotation via free agency.

Lucas Giolito remains the best arm available on the market and it's been reported the Padres are in pursuit of the right-hander. He spent the 2025 campaign with the Boston Red Sox and had 3.41 ERA with 121 strikeouts across 145 innings of work.

Preller isn't known for his predictability, though, so don't rule anything out for the Padres this season.

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