The Mets are expected to be busy once free agency gets moving, and a left-handed reliever like Adrian Morejon fits the kind of name that will pop up quickly in the conversation.
Morejon is coming off another strong year with the Padres, finishing with a 2.83 ERA and 107 strikeouts over a career-high 86 innings. He has never been San Diego’s closer, but the stuff is loud enough to make teams picture him in the ninth inning. There’s even a chance he could move into a starting role, which would only widen his market, though Will Sammon of The Athletic recently reported that Morejon would prefer to stay in the bullpen.
That’s the lens here: projecting him as a reliever, where the market for pitchers can swing wildly from one winter to the next. Morejon makes that job even trickier because he won’t turn 28 until February, and he brings the kind of arsenal clubs chase - a four-seam fastball that averages 99.5 mph and a kick-changeup that gives hitters fits.
His Baseball Savant page tells the same story. Morejon ranks in the 99th percentile in xERA (2.34), chase percentage (38.6%), and barrel percentage (2.8%), which is the kind of profile that gets front offices dreaming about a shutdown arm at the back end of the bullpen.
The best comparison is Josh Hader, who hit free agency at 29 and eventually landed a five-year, $95 million deal with the Houston Astros in 2024. Morejon has a similar set of traits, with the big difference being that Hader had already established himself as a closer. Even so, it’s not hard to imagine Morejon topping that number, and that’s the projection here.
A contract that large would reset the reliever market and eclipse the five-year, $102 million deal Edwin Diaz signed with the Mets in 2022.
But just because Morejon would help the Mets doesn’t mean he makes sense for them. The biggest obstacle is the qualifying offer attached to him, which would cost New York its second- and fifth-highest selections in the 2027 MLB Draft, plus $1 million in international signing bonus pool money.
Because the Mets exceeded the luxury tax threshold in 2026, the penalties get even heavier, with their first-round pick also potentially dropping 10 spots. That’s a steep price to pay for one bullpen arm.
There’s also the matter of where the Mets need to spend. Their rotation remains a bigger priority, and names like Tarik Skubal and Michael King are expected to be in the mix.
Skubal is projected to land a deal north of $300 million, while King could approach $100 million. Trying to chase one of those starters and then add Morejon on a record-setting reliever contract would be a tough sell.
And then there’s Devin Williams, who is already owed more than $27 million over the next two seasons. Adding another massive bullpen contract on top of that would leave the Mets with nearly $35 million annually tied up in just two relievers.
The bullpen does need help, but the smarter path may be spreading that money around more evenly, rather than putting it into one premium arm. Morejon would be a real upgrade. He just doesn’t look like the right one for New York.
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What makes the possibility more appealing for New York is the structure of Hernandezs situation. He still has minor league options available, and the contract he is expected to command should be modest compared with what a pitcher with similar numbers might usually cost, giving the Mets a potentially low-risk way to address a need without making a major financial commitment. [Read more 🡒]
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For now, New York appears more settled elsewhere. The Mets are comfortable with their internal options at the other spots, and Marcus Semien is expected to compete for playing time at second base. At first, though, the search is expected to continue through free agency or trade, with names such as Ty France, Paul Goldschmidt and Alec Bohm in the conversation as the club looks for the right fit. [Read more 🡒]
Mets Face A Bigger Tarik Skubal Battle Than Expected
Tarik Skubal is already shaping up to be one of the biggest names of the winter, and the Mets now have another heavyweight to contend with in the chase. According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Blue Jays have arranged a meeting with the left-hander, who is viewed as the top free agent in this class, adding another aggressive bidder to a market that already includes New York, San Diego and Los Angeles.
For the Mets, the timing matters because this is exactly the kind of arm that can change the outlook of a rotation. Toronto is trying to rebuild its pitching after a season hit by injuries and a disappointing finish in the AL East, and that urgency figures to make the bidding even more intense. If the Blue Jays are serious, the Mets may have to fight harder than expected to land the premier starter on the board. [Read more 🡒]