Padres’ Adrian Morejon will undergo Tommy John surgery
Credit: AP Photo
San Diego Padres’ left-handed pitcher Adrian Morejon is set to have Tommy John.
In his last start on April 11, he was pulled after just two outs. The following day he was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left forearm strain. After reviewing the MRI, it appears like Tommy John surgery is the best option.
This surgery will take Morejon out of action for the rest of this season and most of the 2022 season. This does not bode especially given his injury history. After just five innings pitched in the big leagues last year, he was sidelined with a shoulder impingement.
Ever since the Padres signed him for $11 million as the top pitching prospect in the international class, he has shown his potential.
At the time of his graduation from prospect status, he was the No. 6 prospect in the Padres system and was in and out of the top 100 according to MLB.com.
The young left-hander has some of the nastiest stuff in the game. His problem has always been throwing it for strikes and hitting his spot. Morejon was starting to trend upwards as his command improved. The surgery will obviously halt all the positive progress that he made in spring.
Taking his spot in the rotation will be Ryan Weathers and potentially Dinelson Lamet. Weathers filled in for Morejon in the bullpen when the lefty was moved into the rotation. Then Weathers was a spot starter while the Padres examined the extent of Morejon’s injury.
The other option is for Lamet to take back his spot in the rotation. The only reason there was an opening for Morejon in the first place was because Lamet started the season on the IL. With Lamet projected to start on Wednesday, the Padres will have five men in their rotation.
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The Padres may go with a six-man rotation to give Lamet more time to build himself up to a full workload. Regardless the loss of Morejon means the Padres are down a good pitcher that can perform in the rotation or bullpen.
Evan is a student finishing up a degree in Finance from Northern Arizona University. The ability to break down numbers and find the story behind them has lead to his first of writing for East Village times. He covers baseball which is the sport he grew up playing and has followed even after his playing years.