The Mariners are at least kicking the tires on one of the winter’s biggest bullpen prizes, but the road to actually landing Adrian Morejon already looks steep.
Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times, speaking on the Marine Layer Podcast, said Seattle is interested in the 27-year-old left-hander and even plans to check in on him. That pushes the rumor a little further than the usual vague free-agent chatter.
It’s not just a name floating around. The Mariners are doing their homework.
And it makes sense why Morejon is on their radar. Seattle’s bullpen was very bad in 2026, and Morejon stands out as the top reliever available.
His last three seasons produced a 161 ERA+ and a 1.088 WHIP, though those numbers still may undersell how dominant he’s been. FanGraphs’ Pitching+ metric had him as the best reliever in baseball this year.
Jerry Dipoto has already made it clear that he wants to add to the bullpen this winter, and he’s pointed toward free agency as the route. The challenge is obvious: Morejon would soak up most of the club’s budget for new salaries, though maybe not all of it. Right now, there’s a $21 million gap between what the Mariners spent in 2026 and what they project to spend in 2027.
There is at least one financial wrinkle working in Seattle’s favor. The Mariners do not have to worry about Morejon’s qualifying offer.
If the current system survives into the next CBA - and that is not guaranteed - Seattle would lose its third-highest pick in the 2027 draft if it signed him. But if Randy Arozarena signs elsewhere for more than $50 million, the Mariners would get a pick back after the first round.
Even so, the early free-agent market is making Morejon look more expensive by the day.
MLB Trade Rumors projected Evan Phillips for two years and $24 million, but he wound up with a three-year, $35 million deal from the Atlanta Braves. Jake Bauers was projected to take the $23.15 million tied to his qualifying offer from the Milwaukee Brewers, yet he signed with the Boston Red Sox for $58 million over four years on Friday.
That’s why the four-year, $80 million projection MLBTR gave Morejon suddenly looks modest.
Even at that number, a deal for Morejon would be the third-biggest free-agent signing in Dipoto’s Mariners tenure. The fit is easy to see, but the price still feels like a lot for a reliever who might be worth 2-3 WAR at best. If the market pushes him to something closer to five years and $100 million, the idea gets even harder to picture.
If Seattle is going to spend that kind of money, Suzuki starts to look like a better bet. And with the Red Sox path apparently closed after Bauers landed in Boston, the Mariners could also circle back to Randy Arozarena and see whether his East Coast preference really holds.
For now, though, Seattle has options. If those options disappear and Morejon is still out there, the Mariners may decide to stop thinking about it and just jump.
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Mariners Push Hard To Land A Key Answer In The Outfield
The Mariners are moving quickly on one of the more intriguing names in the outfield market, with reports linking them to free agent Seiya Suzuki and suggesting they want an in-person meeting before the MLB lockout begins. Suzuki, who spent time with the Cubs and was a two-time NPB Central League batting champion, has emerged as a top target as Seattle looks for a meaningful answer in the outfield.
There is a real clock on this pursuit, too, with the current Collective Bargaining Agreement set to expire on Dec. 1. That gives the Mariners a narrow window to make their case and potentially line up a deal before the offseason goes dark, which only adds to the urgency around a player who could change the look of their lineup. [Read more 🡒]