It doesn’t take much in the way of mental gymnastics to say lefty Adrian Morejon would be a good fit on the Chicago Cubs. That’s because it doesn’t take much in the way of mental gymnastics to say lefty Adrian Morejon would be a good fit on ANY team.
The 27-year-old lefty is coming off of three years of absolute dominance in the late-innings of the Padres’ bullpen: 223.1 IP, 2.58 ERA, 2.46 FIP, 27.3% K, 7.3% BB, 0.40 HR/9, 6.2 WAR. Assuming his late-year arm issues were minor and recoverable over an offseason (and the Qualifying Offer the Padres gave him suggest they have no concerns), Morejon figures to continue dominating for some team in the years ahead. Why not the Cubs? There’s a reason Michael had him atop the list of preferred reliever targets this offseason, and right near the top of the overall free agent list, too.
Well, four of six folks at MLB Trade Rumors and CBS Sports, when putting together their free agency lists, seem to see that connection: Mike Axisa, Matt Snyder, Steve Adams, and Anthony Franco all guessed Morejon to the Cubs when putting together those lists. To be sure, that doesn’t MEAN anything definitive, but it’s interesting to see the connection made so consistently.
At first blush, you may find yourself wondering why the Cubs would even consider giving a huge contract *AND* losing their second and fifth highest draft picks *AND* losing $1 million in international bonus pool space to sign a reliever when that’s an area where they have a lot of returning arms, and comparatively fewer questions than in the rotation. I could answer that by pointing out the many questions among those returning bullpen arms or by reiterating that Morejon is utterly dominant, but I prefer to go another route: if the Cubs sign Morejon, it would be with an idea that they could return him to starting.
Morejon made starts in the minor leagues as recently as 2023, and came up as a starting pitcher prospect. With four quality pitches and some durability, you don’t have to stretch too far to suggest he might be able to be a starting pitcher again, a la some other free agency re-conversions we’ve seen in recent years. How much would you love to see the upside of Adrian Morejon as a starting pitcher added to the Cubs’ rotation? They do love lefty starters, after all, and they certainly need some more swing-and-miss.
Among MLBTR’s comments:
“Beyond his sheer dominance, Morejon is one of the market’s youngest free agents. He won’t turn 28 until February. Teams are buying two to three more prime seasons with him than they would a more standard free agent who’s entering his age-30 or age-31 season.
There are only eight relievers in the past decade to sign free agent contracts of four or more years with annual values north of $10MM. Morejon seems like a near-lock to be the ninth. He’s younger than Edwin Díaz was when Díaz signed for five years and $102MM, and he’s better than Tanner Scott was when he signed for four years and $72MM. A five-year deal that pays Morejon in excess of $15MM annually is distinctly possible.
The only blemishes against Morejon are the qualifying offer he’s all but certain to reject and a late shoulder issue that left him unavailable late in the postseason. If that shoulder problem proves to be severe, it could obviously throw a wrench into Morejon’s earning power, but there’s been no indication that it’ll impact his offseason. (If his shoulder were in bad enough shape to be a red flag, it seems doubtful the Padres would’ve made a $23.15MM qualifying offer.) Every team with a shred of postseason ambition is going to want to add Morejon to its bullpen, and some teams could even be interested in converting him back into a starting pitcher.”
And from Axisa and Snyder at CBS:
“Mike Axisa: There are already rumblings that Morejon wants to start in 2027 and I reckon more than a few teams will be willing to give him that opportunity. The Cubs need all kinds of pitching, both starters and relievers, and can make it work even if Morejon can’t hack it as a starter and needs to return to the bullpen. Regardless of role, he’s an excellent pitcher, and few teams need as much pitching as the Cubs this winter. It’s a perfect match.
Matt Snyder: The Cubs badly need rotation help and Wrigley Field, thanks to Chicago wind patterns, is better suited for left-handed pitchers. The ownership there spends money, yes, but is relatively cheap given their market and money-making ability, which means they’ll cheap out on Tarik Skubal (if they even try seriously, and my guess is they won’t). So they’ll need consolation prizes (yes, plural). Morejon will convert to starting and be one of them.”
As a starting pitcher, the sting of draft pick compensation for signing Adrian Morejon – and for giving him $70 or $80 or $90 million – feels a whole lot less. Plus, he does come with that theoretical floor of moving back into relief if he just doesn’t have the length needed for a return to starting.
Moreover, the Cubs have shown under Craig Counsell that they can manage a variety of pitcher types well, getting innings covered in a variety of creative ways. That isn’t to say you’d pay $90 million plus penalties to bring Adrian Morejon in as a swing man. But it definitely is to say that if there’s a way to get 120-ish high quality innings out of him (instead of 80 great ones or 160 weak ones), the Cubs may be well-suited to do it.
To be clear, there’s not quite a “reported rumor” situation here. Just a lot of speculation, much of which is probably just the same as we would say around here: the Cubs need lots and lots of pitching, the Cubs want lots and lots of stuff/velo, and the Cubs may have to get creative to try to import more dominant innings.
But Adrian Morejon is certainly on the list of possible targets.
That said, it’s important to be candid that, historically, the Cubs avoid guys attached to Qualifying Offers. Sure, they signed a guy like Dansby Swanson, for example, but that was a much larger deal with less uncertainty. They have routinely avoided giving up the penalties – particularly when they are in the highest tier of penalty, as they are now – in favor of targeting other options. In this market, there are actually a lot of starting pitchers in the non-Tarik-Skubal tier for the Cubs to pursue, so it’s possible they don’t see Morejon as quite likely enough to successfully transition to starting to justify the cost, when they can otherwise pursue other arms. (Plus Skubal, please and thanks.)
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