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Did the San Diego Padres shut down a recent trade offer from the New York Yankees, who reportedly dangled right-handed starting pitcher Will Warren for impact reliever left-hander Adrian Morejon?
Not so, said a team source who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing deliberations. The Yankees never even made a Warren-for-Morejon formal offer to the Padres, as was relayed in a published report on Sunday that the source called inaccurate.
Though the Yankees have checked in with the Padres on the reliever, it’s unclear what exactly the sides have discussed regarding a potential trade for Morejon, a 2025 All-Star who has become the hardest-throwing left-hander in the big leagues.
Warren, 27, is under club control for four additional seasons. Morejon, also 27, is under control for less than two months, plus the postseason if his team qualifies.
Things can change quickly in the final hours before the trade deadline, but as of late Sunday, team sources said San Diego appears unlikely to move Morejon, the primary set-up man for star closer Mason Miller. If he stays put through the deadline, Morejon could be a candidate to receive a qualifying offer from the Padres after this season. And with new ownership expected to be approved in the coming weeks, some in the organization hope the Padres can make a multi-year offer to keep the lefty beyond 2026.
Still, the Padres are in desperate need of controllable starting pitching, and teams generally consider starters more valuable than relievers, even accomplished ones such as Morejon. Warren is among the league leaders in games started the past two seasons. Though his results have been roughly league average, he is still improving.
It makes sense that the Yankees could consider moving Warren in the right deal. The Yankees are facing a starting pitching glut with the expected return of lefty Carlos Rodón (elbow inflammation) in a few weeks.
Rodón would join Cam Schilttler — the early favorite for the American League Cy Young Award — Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Ryan Weathers and Warren in the Yankees’ rotation. Warren and Weathers are currently the Nos. 4 and 5 starters. At least one of them may move to the bullpen to make room for Rodón and help fortify a relief unit that could also be joined by Clarke Schmidt (Tommy John surgery), though likely not until September.
So far, Weathers (4-7, 3.99 ERA, 21 starts) has performed slightly better than Warren (8-5, 4.14 ERA, 22 games, 21 starts). The Yankees also could be inclined to keep Weathers over Warren considering they traded a package of four prospects to the Miami Marlins to acquire him last offseason. Weathers, a former Padre, is another potential target for San Diego, per league sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing deliberations.
Meanwhile, Warren has been yet another major developmental success for the Yankees, who selected him in the eighth round in 2021 out of Southeastern Louisiana.
The Yankees have been active leading up to the deadline, and are expected to continue dealing.
On Sunday, they beefed up their lineup, acquiring first baseman/designated hitter Luis García Jr. from the Washington Nationals in exchange for two relievers with big-league experience (Yovanny Cruz, Jake Bird) and two minor league pitchers.
On Saturday, they sent reliever Camilo Doval to the Pittsburgh Pirates for two prospects.