The Padres have rejected an offer that would have sent left-handed reliever Adrian Morejon to the Yankees in a deal for righty Will Warren, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports. It is unclear if other players were involved in the proposal.
The Yankees were already known to have interest in Morejon, who is among the best relievers with a chance to end up on the move before Monday’s trade deadline. Going back to his 2024 breakout, the former starter has notched a superb 2.62 ERA over 196 innings, the third-most frames among relievers. While averaging a career-high 99.5 mph on his sinker and 99.3 mph on his fastball this year, Morejon has posted a 3.07 ERA with outstanding strikeout and walk rates of 27.8% and 6.2%, respectively. Morejon has generated ground balls at a strong 50% clip during his career, but he has been even better in that regard this season. The 27-year-old’s personal-best 61.5% grounder rate sits fourth among qualifying relievers.
Morejon is an integral part of a stacked late-game setup in San Diego, which boasts the game’s premier closer in Mason Miller. While Miller has also come up in trade rumors, Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller is leaning toward keeping him unless he receives an enormous offer. The Padres are not holding a playoff spot right now, but a recent hot streak has left them just one game back in the Wild Card race. The team has won eight of nine to climb to 58-54.
Unlike Miller, who is not due to become a free agent until 2030, the Padres could lose Morejon to the open market soon. Even though Morejon is scheduled to become a free agent in the offseason, the Padres turned down the chance to acquire a controllable starter in Warren. The 27-year-old Warren is not even on track to become eligible for arbitration until 2028. He will earn $826K salaries in the meantime. Warren could have immediately slotted into a San Diego rotation that lacks traditional starters beyond Michael King, Walker Buehler and German Marquez. With Nick Pivetta, Joe Musgrove and Lucas Giolito among starting options on the injured list, the Padres have heavily leaned on their bullpen. Pivetta and Musgrove will embark on rehab assignments during the upcoming week, leading to hope they will return sometime this month.
Since becoming a regular in the Yankees’ rotation in 2025, Warren has tossed 271 innings of 4.32 ERA ball over 54 starts. That includes a 4.14 mark across 108 2/3 frames this season. Warren sported a 3.22 ERA at the beginning of June, but he has struggled to go deep in games and keep runs off the board since then. He did, however, turn in a great start in a win over the Cubs on Friday. He held them scoreless over 6 2/3, four-hit innings. After fanning seven and issuing no free passes in that outing, Warren improved his above-average strikeout and walk rates to 23.0% and 7.6%, respectively. He has also induced grounders at a solid 43.1% clip. Although his xERA (4.44) is poor, his xFIP (3.77), SIERA (3.94) and FIP (3.96) are more favorable. They are right in line with one another in suggesting Warren has deserved better than a low-4.00s ERA.
Barring a trade before the deadline, Warren will remain part of a Yankees rotation that also includes Cam Schlittler, Max Fried, Gerrit Cole and Ryan Weathers. It will become a more crowded bunch if and when lefty Carlos Rodón returns from the 15-day injured list. He has been down with elbow inflammation since July 3. The Yankees also have righty Clarke Schmidt working back from July 2025 Tommy John surgery. Schmidt could factor in down the stretch.
Had the Yankees dealt Warren for Morejon, manager Aaron Boone would have added a much-needed lefty weapon to his relief corps. Southpaw Brent Headrick has been unexpectedly excellent, though Tim Hill has struggled after back-to-back productive seasons. Closer David Bednar and righties Fernando Cruz and Paul Blackburn have joined Headrick as the Yankees’ most reliable relievers throughout the season. Camilo Doval was supposed to count among that group, but he struggled enough for the Yankees to trade him to the Pirates on Saturday.
Even with a Morejon deal unlikely, the Yankees could add to their Doval-less bullpen prior to the deadline. Barring trades involving Warren or Weathers, the Yankees may also consider bullpen roles for those two if the team holds on for a playoff berth. New York is 2 1/2 games behind Tampa Bay in the AL East, but it owns a comfortable 6 1/2-game lead on a Wild Card spot.
