Adrian Morejón Garcia (born February 27, 1999) is a Cuban professional
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...
for the
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...
of
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
(MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2019.
Career
Cuban career
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
In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...
of the latter tournament. He appeared in the
Cuban National Series
The Cuban National Series (, or SNB) is a domestic baseball competition in Cuba. Formed after the dissolution of the Cuban League in the wake of the Cuban Revolution, the National Series is a part of the Cuban baseball league system.
For most ...
for the
Huracanes de Mayabeque that year.
[
Morejón ]defected
In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, changing sides in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, defection involves abandoning a person, ca ...
from Cuba in October 2015. He relocated to the Dominican Republic and was declared a free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...
by Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
in July 2016.
San Diego Padres
Morejón signed a minor league contract with the San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...
, receiving a $11 million signing bonus
A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...
, on July 7, 2016. He made his professional debut in 2017, spending time with both the Tri-City Dust Devils
The Tri-City Dust Devils are a Minor League Baseball team based in Pasco, Washington. The Dust Devils are members of the Northwest League
The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States ...
and the Fort Wayne TinCaps
The Fort Wayne TinCaps are a Minor League Baseball team based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The TinCaps compete in the Midwest League as the High-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Parkview Field. The TinCaps won the ...
, posting a combined 3–4 win–loss record Win–loss may refer to:
* Win–loss analytics, analysis of the reasons why a visitor to a website was or wasn't persuaded to engage in a desired action
* Win–loss record, also winning percentage
* Win–loss record (pitching), the number of ...
with a 3.86 earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...
(ERA) in 13 starts between both clubs. He spent 2018 with the Lake Elsinore Storm
The Lake Elsinore Storm are a Minor League Baseball team based in Lake Elsinore, California. The Storm compete in the California League as the Single-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Lake Elsinore Diamond, w ...
, going 4–4 with a 3.30 ERA in 13 starts. He began 2019 with the Amarillo Sod Poodles
The Amarillo Sod Poodles, nicknamed the Soddies, are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Amarillo, Texas, and play their home games at Hodgetown in downtow ...
. Morejón was named to the 2019 All-Star Futures Game
The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League- ...
.
On July 21, 2019, the Padres selected Morejón's contract and promoted him to the major leagues. He made his major league debut that day versus the Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...
. In 2020, Morejón pitched to a 2–2 record and 4.66 ERA with 25 strikeouts in innings across nine games (four games started).
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
Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, ...
and miss the remainder of the 2021 season. On April 23, Morejón was placed on the 60-day injured list. After rehabilitating from his surgery, Morejón returned to the Padres' active roster on June 7, 2022. 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.
On January 13, 2023, Morejón agreed to a one-year, $800K contract with the Padres, avoiding salary arbitration. He was placed on the 60-day injured list to begin the season after suffering a left elbow sprain in spring training
Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...
. 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.
See also
* List of baseball players who defected from Cuba
This is a list of baseball players who defected from Cuba, consisting of Cuban baseball players who have defected since the beginning of Fidel Castro's presidency.
Background
Prior to the Cuban Revolution, which saw Castro rise to power in 1959 ...
* List of Major League Baseball players from Cuba
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morejón, Adrian
1999 births
Living people
Amarillo Sod Poodles players
Arizona League Padres players
Defecting Cuban baseball players
El Paso Chihuahuas players
Fort Wayne TinCaps players
Lake Elsinore Storm players
Major League Baseball pitchers
Major League Baseball players from Cuba
21st-century Cuban sportsmen
Cuban expatriate baseball players in the United States
San Antonio Missions players
San Diego Padres players
Tri-City Dust Devils players
Baseball players from Havana