Braves overpaying Dodgers reliever might’ve just ruined Yankees’ Adrian Morejon chase

The idea of Adrian Morejon in pinstripes has been a tantalizing one for New York Yankees fans. It's been years since the team signed a top-flight reliever, and lefties that throw 100 miles per hour sinkers definitely don't grow on trees. Add in the fact that the Yankees bullpen currently has a lot of vacancies — David Bednar, Paul Blackburn, and Tim Hill are free agents while Fernando Cruz is out with a torn UCL — and adding such a high-octane arm looks like a real necessity.

For a bit, it appeared that the pursuit of Morejon was going to be complicated. There were rumors of teams wanting to convert him to a starter, which inevitably would drive up his price tag. The news that he wanted to remain in the bullpen allowed us to breathe a sigh of relief.

That relief was short-lived. Even if the 27-year-old stays a reliever, his price just went up. The Atlanta Braves made the first big move on the reliever market and it raised the bar for all of the top-end options.

That's because the Braves took oft-injured former Los Angeles Dodgers setup man Evan Phillips and gave him a whopping three-year, $35 million contract. It's a hefty sum of money for a player with limited experience closing games. More importantly, he's a hurler who comes with a lot of risk.

Phillips was limited to just 31 games and 26 innings as he was recovering from Tommy John surgery. The UCL injury he suffered cost him nearly all of 2025, save for 5 2/3 innings. When he returned to action this year, he got walloped to start, allowing four homers and five earned runs over his first seven games. He'd settle down the rest of the way, tossing 19 1/3 innings with a 2.33 ERA from July 27 onward.

It's not just the Tommy John surgery that's a black mark on Phillips' injury record. He had elbow troubles during the Dodgers' 2024 playoff run and also dealt with rotator cuff and forearm injuries in 2025.

It might be time for the Yankees to look at Adrian Morejon alternatives

If Phillips, with his lengthy history of arm ailments, can get nearly $12 million a year, what can we expect a workhorse like Morejon to receive? The flamethrowing lefty logged 86 innings over 76 games this year, which represented the third-highest innings total and the fourth-highest number of appearances among all relievers. In 2025, he was also a rubber arm, appearing in 75 contests and tossing 73 2/3 frames.

MLB Trade Rumors projected a five-year, $80 million contract for Morejon prior to the Phillips signing, and while that might have been a tad aggressive, Atlanta's decision to irresponsibly throw money around has nudged it closer to the realm of possibility.

If that prediction were to come true, Morejon would tie Kenley Jansen's deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2016 as the fourth-largest reliever deal ever. Only Aroldis Chapman's deal with the Yankees (don't remind us) of five years, $86 million, Josh Hader's five-year, $95 million pact with the Astros, and Edwin Diaz's five-year, $102 million agreement with the Mets have topped that mark. What do all of those players have in common? They were all closers at the time those contracts were signed. That label might be a bit overblown, but with just eight career saves, Morejon has never served in that role.

New York is also eyeing a return for David Bednar and a reunion with Paul Blackburn. The former will be costly because of his experience in the ninth, while the latter will certainly make significantly more than the $2 million he earned in 2026. Beyond that, more reinforcements could be needed. Morejon would be the second lefty in the bullpen alongside Brent Headrick, but neither pitcher is a true lefty specialist in the Tim Hill mold. That's a need as well, along with adding depth.

If the market for Morejon runs wild following the Phillips signing, the Yankees coming up on top all but ensures that most of those other holes in the relief corps go unfilled. We've been here before, and we've seen the problems that a top-heavy bullpen can create. It's time to go back to the drawing board and build a unit that is better constructed to weather a 162-game season.

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