Inside The Padres

Padres Left-Hander Used Small Mechanical Tweak to Re-Establish His Value

Maren Angus-Coombs

Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
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There is renewed hope for the biggest signing class for the San Diego Padres that agreed to terms between July 2016 and June 2017.

San Diego invested $80 million in international prospects during that time and has only yielded a handful of valuable trade pieces. Overall, the draft class was a total bust.

However, Adrian Morejon would like a word. He cost the Padres roughly $22 million between his bonus and overage taxes but he is displaying career-high velocity and a new sweeper in his role as a multi-inning reliever.

The 25-year-old spent some time with pitching coach Ruben Niebla who recommended a lower arm slot for the pitcher after a few biomechanical assessments in San Diego’s pitching lab and the change is working. 

“That last month of the (2023) season when I had injuries, I think that’s when Ruben first noticed some of the things that we’ve been working on, and this offseason we really started to put the work in,” Morejon said through team interpreter Danny Sanchez.

“Now that I feel good physically, it’s really been an easy adjustment with the new arm slot.”

Since being recalled from Triple-A El Paso on April 12, Morejon has thrown more innings (13) than he gave the Padres all of last season (nine). He has struck out 21 and walked one. 

He hasn’t officially established himself as a mainstay in the San Diego bullpen, but if he keeps this up then he is well on his way.

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Maren Angus-Coombs
MAREN ANGUS-COOMBS

Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. Despite being raised in the South, her sports obsession has always been in Los Angeles. She is currently a staff writer for the LA Sports Report Network.

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