Adrián Morejón’s free agency has a clean fit in Seattle, at least on paper: he wants to stay in the bullpen, and the Mariners can offer exactly that without asking anyone in their rotation to change roles.
That matters. A lot of clubs have looked at Morejón and considered turning him into a starter.
Seattle doesn’t need that kind of complication. The Mariners already have enough rotation decisions to sort through, and Morejón only becomes more appealing if he stays in the lane he knows.
The sales pitch is obvious. Come to Seattle and take some of the biggest outs with Andrés Muñoz.
The Mariners can hand Morejón the bullpen job he wants and mean it. The catch is just as obvious: another team can make the same promise and attach a bigger number to it.
That feels highly likely.
Morejón has the résumé to back up the buzz. In 2026, he made 76 appearances for San Diego and struck out 107 in 86 innings, finishing with a 2.83 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP.
He’s 27 and has now put together three straight seasons with at least 60 appearances and an ERA under 3.00. That kind of durability and swing-and-miss production is going to draw real attention, and it explains why the price tag starts well above what teams usually spend on a left-handed bullpen arm.
Seattle would not be bringing him in to fill a void so much as to raise the ceiling. Gabe Speier and José A.
Ferrer can still have roles, but Morejón would change how those innings are managed. He could work against both left-handed and right-handed hitters, freeing Speier and Ferrer to handle earlier spots or settle into more specialized work depending on the night.
If Muñoz needs a breather, Morejón could close. If a starter gets knocked out early on a Friday, he could be the arm that helps cover four or five outs on Saturday.
That’s the kind of flexibility that can tilt a bullpen.
San Diego, though, has reasons to stay in the mix. It’s been reported that the Padres want him back, and Morejón said he was interested in returning at the end of the season.
The Padres also already know what it looks like to pair him with Mason Miller. On top of that, they’ve put the one-year, $23.15 million qualifying offer in front of him.
That’s serious money for a reliever, even on a one-year deal, and it’s not the kind of offer a pitcher is eager to walk away from lightly.
The market could still get much bigger. The Mets, Tigers and Marlins have been mentioned as possible landing spots, though the reports about teams interested in using him as a starter don’t name those clubs specifically.
More important for Seattle is the possibility that the relief market itself gets crowded. MLB.com reported that most executives at the GM Meetings viewed Morejón as the best reliever available.
If even one team decides it wants the top arm on the board, the bidding can move quickly.
That’s where the Mariners may run into trouble. An $80 million projection for Morejón sounds like the kind of number his agent might bring to the table, not one Seattle would be eager to write.
The club does not usually operate at that level, especially not for a reliever. And if Morejón turns down the Padres’ qualifying offer, signing him would also cost Seattle draft-pick compensation.
A team willing to go big could beat the Mariners on years, money, or both.
Seattle still has another major issue hanging over its offseason: the lineup. Randy Arozarena’s free agency makes the need for offense even more pressing, and depending on how that situation unfolds, the Mariners may have to replace a bat before they can even think about upgrading it.
So the fit is real, but so is the price. Seattle should at least check in and see what it would take to stay in the conversation.
If the Mariners only get one major free-agent swing, the money probably belongs on a hitter. Morejón would be a strong bullpen addition, but the odds still point to someone else paying enough to land him.
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Mariners Linked To A Former Top Pick Fans Have Seen Before
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Mariners Push Hard To Land A Key Answer In The Outfield
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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 🡒]