Adrian Morejón Garcia (born February 27, 1999) is a Cuban professional baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2019.

Adrian Morejón
Morejón pitching for the Padres in 2022
San Diego Padres – No. 50
Pitcher
Born: (1999-02-27) February 27, 1999 (age 25)
Havana, Cuba
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
MLB debut
July 21, 2019, for the San Diego Padres
MLB statistics
(through 2024 season)
Win–loss record10–5
Earned run average4.15
Strikeouts144
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  Cuba
U-15 Baseball World Cup
Gold medal – first place 2014 Mazatlán Team
12U Baseball World Championship
Silver medal – second place 2011 Taipei Team

Career

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Cuban career

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Morejón played for the Cuban national baseball team in the 2011 12U Baseball World Championship and the 2014 15U Baseball World Cup. He was named the most valuable player of the latter tournament.[1] He appeared in the Cuban National Series for the Huracanes de Mayabeque that year.[2]

Morejón defected from Cuba in October 2015.[2] He relocated to the Dominican Republic and was declared a free agent by Major League Baseball in July 2016.[3]

San Diego Padres

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Morejón pitching in a prospects game in 2017

Morejón signed a minor league contract with the San Diego Padres, receiving a $11 million signing bonus, on July 7, 2016.[4] He made his professional debut in 2017, spending time with both the Tri-City Dust Devils and the Fort Wayne TinCaps, posting a combined 3–4 win–loss record with a 3.86 earned run average (ERA) in 13 starts between both clubs.[5] He spent 2018 with the Lake Elsinore Storm, going 4–4 with a 3.30 ERA in 13 starts.[6] He began 2019 with the Amarillo Sod Poodles.[7] Morejón was named to the 2019 All-Star Futures Game.[8]

On July 21, 2019, the Padres selected Morejón's contract and promoted him to the major leagues.[9] He made his major league debut that day versus the Chicago Cubs.[10] In 2020, Morejón pitched to a 2–2 record and 4.66 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 19+13 innings across nine games (four games started).[11]

Morejón departed from a game started on April 11, 2021, against the Texas Rangers after suffering a left forearm strain. On April 20, it was announced that Morejón would undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the remainder of the 2021 season.[12] On April 23, Morejón was placed on the 60-day injured list.[13] After rehabilitating from his surgery, Morejón returned to the Padres' active roster on June 7, 2022.[14] He made a career–high 26 appearances for San Diego in 2022, logging a 5–1 record and 4.24 ERA with 28 strikeouts in 38.0 innings of work.[15]

On January 13, 2023, Morejón agreed to a one-year, $800K contract with the Padres, avoiding salary arbitration.[16] He was placed on the 60-day injured list to begin the season after suffering a left elbow sprain in spring training.[17] After a rehab assignment with Low–A Lake Elsinore, Morejòn was activated from the injured list on June 6 and optioned to Triple–A El Paso.[18]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Cuba crowned U-15 Baseball World Champions with 6-3 victory over USA in World Cup final". World Baseball Softball Confederation. August 11, 2024. Archived from the original on June 30, 2022. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Adrian Morejon, MVP At 15U World Cup, Leaves Cuba - BaseballAmerica.com". October 12, 2015. Archived from the original on October 19, 2015. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  3. ^ "Cuban phenom Morejon, 17, is free agent". MLB.com.
  4. ^ Lin, Dennis (July 7, 2016). "Padres sign Cuban prospect Morejon for $11M". Retrieved July 7, 2016.
  5. ^ "Adrian Morejon Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  6. ^ "Adrian Morejon Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  7. ^ "Padres' Adrian Morejon: Healthy again". CBSSports.com.
  8. ^ Jim Callis (June 28, 2019). "Here are the 2019 Futures Game rosters". MLB.com. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  9. ^ RotoWire Staff (July 19, 2019). "Padres' Adrian Morejon: To join Padres' bullpen". CBS Sports. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  10. ^ Russell Dorsey (July 21, 2019). "Padres' youngsters combine to down Cubs". MLB.com. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  11. ^ "Padres roster review: Adrián Morejón". January 14, 2021.
  12. ^ "Padres lefty Morejon has Tommy John surgery". ESPN.com. April 21, 2021.
  13. ^ Connor Byrne. "Padres Select Aaron Northcraft". Mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  14. ^ "Padres notes: Rare smile for Adrian Morejon, reunion for Sean Manaea". San Diego Union-Tribune. June 8, 2022.
  15. ^ "2022 Padres Player Review: Adrian Morejon". gaslampball.com. June 11, 2023.
  16. ^ "2023 MLB Arbitration Tracker". MLBTradeRumors. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
  17. ^ "Padres' Adrian Morejon: Lands on 60-day IL". cbssports.com. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  18. ^ "Padres' Adrian Morejon: Activated, optioned to Triple-A". cbssports.com. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
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