Adrian Morejon has put himself in a pretty unusual spot for a free agent reliever: he’s good enough to draw starter interest, but he’d rather stay right where he is. And that choice could end up making him exactly the kind of bullpen upgrade the Seattle Mariners have been circling.
According to Will Sammon, Ken Rosenthal and Katie Woo of The Athletic, clubs are eyeing the left-hander as a possible starter, but that’s not how he sees himself. Morejon’s “preference” is to remain in relief, which separates him from recent bullpen-to-rotation cases like Clay Holmes and Seth Lugo.
That stance comes with real value. Morejon has logged 60-plus appearances in each of the last three seasons and finished with an ERA in the 2.00s every time. His 131 Pitching+ score made him the best reliever of 2026, which is a pretty strong case for someone who knows exactly what role suits him.
The catch is obvious: staying in the bullpen could limit what he makes on the open market. But if he’s willing to accept that, the Mariners may be willing to live with the price too - if they decide to push beyond their usual comfort zone.
Seattle’s interest in adding bullpen help is no secret. In a recent interview with Teren Kowatsch of Roundtable Sports, president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto sounded energized by the reliever market.
"We usually look internally and to trade first. This year’s bullpen market is pretty appealing," Dipoto said.
"There’s a lot of guys out there we feel like could help us. We’ve already identified who they might be.
Whether we can land them or not is a different story. But, we’re looking to add to our bullpen."
Morejon would be the top prize in that pool. The question is whether Seattle would actually pay what it would take. MLB Trade Rumors projects him at five years and $80 million, and other estimates are said to be close to that number.
The Mariners have only gone to the deep end of free agency twice under Dipoto: Robbie Ray on a five-year, $115 million deal in 2021 and Josh Naylor on a five-year, $92.5 million contract last year. A reliever at that level would be a big swing, even for a team that has shown it can go there.
There is one thing working in Morejon’s favor with Seattle’s ownership picture: he’s 27. John Stanton has been described as averse to spending heavily on players in their 30s, so a younger free agent carries more appeal. The only other 20-something who looks like a possible Mariners splash is Japanese slugger Teruaki Sato, also 27, who is projected by MLB Trade Rumors for five years and $80 million.
But Sato comes with another layer of cost because of the posting system, which would push that deal closer to $94 million. That would make him more expensive than Naylor while also bringing more uncertainty. The Mariners need the power, but his left-handed bat, swing-and-miss tendencies and defensive questions make it easy to see why they might hesitate at that level.
Randy Arozarena and Seiya Suzuki are still out there if you want to dream bigger, but those names already look like long shots because they could command around $100 million. So if Seattle is going to make a real splash without going all the way to that tier, Morejon may be the cleanest fit.
If not, then the Mariners may be left shopping in a much smaller aisle.
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