The Marlins would have to give Adrian Morejon a reason to turn down $23.15 million<\/p>\n
The first decision belongs to Morejon. He has until Nov. 17 to accept the Padres\u2019 qualifying offer. One yes gets him $23.15 million for 2027<\/a> and sends him back to a bullpen he\u2019s already said he\u2019d like to rejoin. That\u2019s also a major payday for a reliever, and it deserves more weight than a speculative shot at saves.<\/p>\n Then there\u2019s the question of what Miami would actually spend. MLB Trade Rumors projects five years and $80 million for Morejon. The biggest free-agent deal of Bruce Sherman\u2019s ownership was four years and $53 million for Avisa\u00edl Garc\u00eda. Under baseball operations chief Peter Bendix, the high-water mark is the one-year, $13 million deal Fairbanks got last winter. If Morejon\u2019s market gets anywhere near that projection, Miami would have to blow past its own spending history and give up a draft pick to sign him. That makes Vesia by far the easier deal.<\/p>\n But say the Marlins get to a number Morejon likes. They can offer him the chance to be the guy their manager calls with three outs left. Maybe the Padres can offer him a bigger check and more years. The ninth inning in San Diego will still belong to Miller,<\/a> and everybody in that conversation knows it.<\/p>\n Put the Dodgers\u2019 best left-handed bat at the plate in the eighth with a runner on and the Padres up one. We had a quick answer to that question last season. If Morejon leaves, Craig Stammen still has to answer it about 70 times over the course of 2027, with other arms like Jason Adam also entering free agency.<\/p>\n The rotation needs work, so we can understand why A.J. Preller might draw a line on a multiyear deal for a reliever. We\u2019d still make Morejon a serious offer if he turns down the qualifying offer. If the price gets too steep, Preller needs to come out of the winter with a lefty Stammen can trust.<\/p>\n
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