Padres All-Star Reliever Makes it Clear He Doesn't Want to Be Traded

The 27-year-old is in the middle of a career year for the Padres.

Jul 3, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; San Diego Padres pitcher Adrian Morejon (50) reacts during the seventh inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jon Endow-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

San Diego Padres pitcher Adrian Morejon has never pitched for another organization. Although he's 27 years old, and in the middle of his eighth MLB season, he's never been traded.

It's a rare position of stability in a sport where change is constant. Among the current Padres players, only Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado have been with the team longer. Francisco Mejía caught Morejon's first start in the summer of 2019; current manager Craig Stammen was in the bullpen.

It's no surprise, then, that Morejon doesn't want to be traded between now and Monday, baseball's annual trade deadline.

"I’m trying to not put too much pressure on me right now,” Morejón said, via Annie Heilbrunn of the San Diego Union-Tribune. “I know what’s going on for the trade deadline. I try not to think too much about that because it’s a little bit hard for me because I [have played] for 10 years with the Padres, so I don’t like if [a trade] happens.

“I prefer to stay here. I know it’s not my decision, but that’s why I try to pitch good, trying to help the team win.”

Few players can control their destiny at the deadline. Typically a player can only negotiate a no-trade clause into his contract as a free agent. Morejon is a free agent after this season.

Because he is owed a relatively affordable $3.9 million this season, Morejon is among the more expendable arms in AJ Preller's bullpen — if the Padres' president of baseball operations chooses to subtract from the team's most obvious area of strength to address an area of weakness.

Morejon is on pace to set career highs in strikeouts and Wins Above Replacement according to FanGraphs' version of the stat. Overall he's 8-2 with a 3.14 ERA in 50 games out of the bullpen. He has a 1.116 WHIP through 57.1 innings.

Teams with a need for a left-handed reliever won't find many better options on the trade market. The New York Yankees are among the teams that have already been linked to Morejon.

Even though he's never been a closer — Morejon began his big league career as a starter — the left-hander might also been in line to move up the bullpen pecking order if Preller trades another reliever (or two) instead.

Even though he doesn't have a vote, it appears that would be Morejon's preference.

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