Adrian Morejon is drawing significant trade interest ahead of the MLB trade deadline.

Adrian Morejon is a name being mentioned with just more than 24 hours to go before the trade deadline.

The San Diego Padres’ left-handed reliever has played a vital role in the team’s bullpen over the past few seasons. Now, the Padres and Morejon are standing at a fork in the road. Do the Padres keep their high-leverage lefty, or trade him to address other needs.

San Diego sat one game back of the Philadelphia Phillies for the final NL Wild Card spot when games began on August 2. The Padres had won seven of their last eight games to that point. They are still very much in the mix and plan to be until the season ends in late September.

The Friars are chasing the postseason despite having one of the worst starting rotations in baseball. After Michael King, the rotation features Griffin Canning, German Marquez, Walker Buehler, and JP Sears. The team has recently had to get creative with its pitching, using openers and planning bullpen games.

Dennis Lin reported that Nick Pivetta and Joe Musgrove will start rehab assignments this week. Even without any setbacks, neither pitcher would see major league action until at least early September. The Padres need quality starting pitching now.

This is where Morejon comes in. As valuable as he is to the team, he pitches in the latter half of games. On top of that, the Padres have one of the better bullpens in the NL, even without him being there. If President of Baseball Operations AJ Preller wants to upgrade the rotation, he’ll have to pull from an area of strength.

The Padres have one Top 100 prospect, Ethan Salas, who was recently called up to Triple-A El Paso and is believed to be the major league team’s primary catcher in the near future. After Salas, the Padres don’t have much in terms of prospect capital. Morejon has emerged as the strongest trade chip Preller would be willing to part with.

He is a free agent after the season, and that makes it more sensible to trade him. Extract value at the deadline rather than risk seeing him walk to another team this winter.

One team that is looking for relief pitching is the New York Yankees. Preller and Yankees general manager Brian Cashman know each other well. The two men negotiated a trade that sent Juan Soto to the Yankees in exchange for King and company.

These two making another trade that helps both teams now is a possibility. The Yankees have starting pitching they would be willing to part with if it means bringing on a high-leverage bullpen arm. One such starting pitcher is Will Warren.

Warren has a 4.14 ERA in 21 starts so far this season. He’s 27 and under team control through the 2030 season. He has pitched into the sixth inning or later in six of his 21 starts this season. That hasn’t been seen at all this season from the Padres’ starting rotation.

The Padres would have to trade a vital piece of their bullpen, but in return, they would address a critical area of need. Warren doesn’t overpower hitters. His four-seamer and sinker both sit at 93 mph. Warren’s success is in his off-speed pitches. His curveball has a 39.4 Whiff%, and his changeup a 29.5 Whiff%.

The MLB trade deadline is at 3 p.m. PDT on August 3. Preller is known for making tough deadline decisions when it comes to prospects. Now, he’ll have to make them with his major league roster. The clock is ticking.

Mike Ursery

Mike is the sports editor for the Fayette Advertiser, and has been with East Village Times since 2015. His work has appeared on Bleacher Report. He is an avid Padres fan who is keeping the faith and trusting the process.