The ancient Greeks envisioned the god Zeus as a fastballer who hurled too much heat for his cosmic rivals to overcome.
Typhon found out the hard way. Zeus pelted the multi-headed monster with thunderbolts, then tossed a mountain on top of him.
While Zeus ruled the sky, Poseidon controlled the oceans. He wielded a magical spear and made the earth shake.
Adrián Morejón takes an interest in Greek mythology, and by human standards, boasts a rather strong left arm.
How strong? Padres scouts pledged Morejón $11 million when he was 17.
Morejon’s amazing arm, alas, wasn’t invulnerable. Five years into his career, reconstructive elbow surgery was needed.
While the procedure performed by Los Angeles-based surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache left Morejon and team encouraged about a recovery, the lengthy scar sent Morejón to his tattoo artist.
“We wanted to cover it up very well,” Morejon said, “so we had this idea.”
Adrian Morejon of the San Diego Padres pitches against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the ninth inning at Petco Park on Thursday, July 9, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Behold a snarling Poseidon, whose visage adorns Morejón mid-arm; and a fierce Zeus, who scowls from Morejón’s upper arm.
“They were something that I’d seen over time, and just kind of liked,” Morejón said through Padres translator Jorge Merlos.
Making him a borderline baseball superhero who controls fastballs that average 99-plus mph and mixes in low-90 changeups and nasty sliders, Morejón has harnessed his powerful arm in recent years.
One of baseball’s top relievers over the past nearly three seasons, the 27-year-old pending free agent gets strikeouts and groundballs at high rates, amasses more innings than most relievers do and provides first-year manager Craig Stammen a versatile hammer in front of uber-closer Mason Miller.
The Padres are far from being a great team, but greatness isn’t needed to earn the National League’s third wild-card playoff berth.
Where the Padres do boast top-tier skill is at the back of their bullpen, where the M&M tandem of Miller and Morejón is giving president of baseball operations A.J. Preller much to consider going into Monday afternoon’s trade deadline.
Pitching coach Ruben Niebla hugs Adrian Morejon during Padres spring training workouts at the Peoria Sports Complex on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025 in Peoria, Ariz.. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The story of Morejón’s rise is worth re-telling.
When he underwent Tommy John surgery five years ago at age 22, Morejón hadn’t inspired a lot of confidence — at least, not outside of Padres Land — that the team would recoup a decent return on its large investment in him.
Beset by injuries and inconsistency, he’d logged subpar innings totals across each of four minor league seasons. Neither his minor league ERA of about 4.00 nor his underlying statistics screamed “top prospect.”
In parts of four seasons with the Padres, the glimmers were few as well.
He’d pitched 75 innings total, posting a 5.28 ERA. Hitters timed his upper-90s fastball, a large factor in the 15 home runs he allowed.
The Padres weren’t panicking. They knew that Morejón’s transition was posing numerous large challenges.
He’d come to pitching late as a 15-year-old who’d moved from the outfield.
Along with having to learn a new culture and language, he could be expected to feel the weight of his $11-million bonus.
“Expectations were high,” said pitching coach Ruben Niebla, who came to the organization when Morejón was completing his recovery from Tommy John surgery.
“And,” Niebla added, “he got on to the major league team at a young age (20). So, there was more maturity for him to continue to improve on. When I say maturity, it became more of a discipline, him becoming more disciplined, more understanding of who he is, more understanding of what it takes to be a major leaguer.”
Adrian Morejon of the San Diego Padres pitches against the Colorado Rockies during the eighth inning at Petco Park on Friday, April 10, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The Padres and Morejón made three changes. Each one has paid off.
A biomechanical assessment revealed that Morejón would benefit from a lower release point to his delivery. Niebla said the change brought much-improved durability and accuracy.
“Also,” Niebla said of Morejón, “he got himself better in the mental aspect of the game. He actually started talking to people about the mental aspect of the game, and how to control emotions, how to control success and failure.”
Lastly, Morejón embraced a full-time move to the bullpen.
The overall results: a 2.64 ERA in the lefty’s nearly 200 innings since the start of the 2024 season, during which Morejón has compiled an adjusted ERA that’s 58% percent better than the league average.
Instead of the Padres reaping almost nothing from an investment that grew to $22 million due to overage taxes, they saw Morejón, with much assistance, make huge gains and outperform his big-league salaries.
“God has given me this talent to throw so great,” Morejón said, “but I’ve also had to break through a lot of things to get where I’m at. I’ve had to learn things from this clubhouse as well, and that learning has gotten me to where I am right now. Over time, I’ve just learned so much to get exactly where I need to be.”
The next Padres’ step is a mystery, and one that involves Morejón.
If Preller chooses to sell before the trade deadline, Morejón will attract offers as a three-month rental.
On the other hand, might Preller decide to bolster the team’s push for a fourth wild card berth in five years?
The lefty who fires thunderbolts would fuel some of that optimism.