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Padres reportedly rejected wild Yankees overpay in Adrian Morejon trade talks

Well, that's different.
Adam Weinrib
Adam Weinrib

Yanks Go Yard

Aug 2, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres relief pitcher Adrian Morejon (50) celebrates walking off the field during the eighth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Um ... remember when we wrote earlier about how, if the San Diego Padres were interested in controllable Yankees pitchers Will Warren and Ryan Weathers, then the two sides were likely talking about a more expansive deal than, say, a rental package for two months of Adrian Morejon? Hilariously enough, "liking" Warren is apparently not enough for Padres head honcho AJ Preller to send his lefty bullpen ace across the country.

According to Bob Nightengale, the Padres outright rejected a trade that would've sent 4.5 years of Warren to San Diego in exchange for Morejon, who will hit free agency the second the season ends.

Warren, who's long been a favorite of pitching factories everywhere, hasn't put it together for longer than fits and spurts in his big-league career, but he did open this season with a 2.59 ERA in six March/April starts before the wheels fell off somewhat. He's also coming off the strongest start of his career, hurling 6 2/3 shutout frames against the Cubs at Wrigley Field on Friday.

That wasn't enough to tempt Preller to weaken his bullpen bridge and send Morejon packing.

While any trade value website will tell you he's foolish to turn down such an overture, the reality is that ... he goes for it. He doesn't sell unless the universe is screaming into his face that he must. With the Padres now sitting over .500 and their entire victory formula predicated on shortening the game —centered around Morejon and Mason Miller — we should've known that even Cashman's attempt to out-wild man the wild man wouldn't work.

Adrian Morejon postgame Padres quote made it clear Yankees trade was dead

We probably should've known Morejon wasn't switching sides when he left Sunday's Padres win with an emotional address to the gathered media.

Reading between the lines, it now feels like Morejon wasn't pleading his case, but was instead stamping an exclamation point on things.

And so, just like that, a series of fanciful Padres dreams die at once. No Morejon. No Miller. No Tatis/Bogaerts expanded package gamble. San Diego is going as full-throttle as this current roster is able to, and Cashman will have to fill a bullpen role before Monday's game after trading Yovanny Cruz (and hopefully spend less). Warren is officially off the table.

Unless ... you wanna get nuts?

Adam Weinrib

Adam Weinrib

Adam Weinrib is a Content Director on the FanSided network, and has been the co-editor at Yanks Go Yard for 6 years. He also co-hosts The Baseball Insiders Podcast thrice weekly, alongside FanSided MLB insider Robert Murray, as well as the Yanks Go Yard Podcast. Previously, he was a Senior Editor at 12up.com, and has been covering MLB and NFL for 10 years. He was also a headline and features contributor at ClickHole and Onion Sports, as well as the Associate Producer of the ESPN 30 for 30 film "Believeland". An avowed fan of the New York sports teams -- specifically the Yankees -- as well as the North Carolina Tar Heels, you can find Adam complaining mid-game on Twitter, as well as on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn if the game goes really poorly.