The Philadelphia Phillies have a lot of items on their offseason checklist to accomplish if they want to make any noise in the National League next season.

Among the areas on the team that need an upgrade is the pitching staff, specifically left-handed options out of the bullpen. Out of the seven Phillies players who are officially free agents already, three of them are left-handed pitchers: Nestor Cortes, Jose Alvarado and Brooks Raley.

It is highly likely that none of those players will be brought back for another year in Philadelphia. That leaves Tim Mayza as the only left-handed reliever who is locked into a Major League role right now; Tanner Banks will have to earn his spot after a disappointing 2026 campaign.

Luckily for the Phillies, there is a player available in free agency who can address this need of theirs: Adrian Morejon. David Schoenfield of ESPN believes they are the best fit, and rightfully so.

Phillies are fantastic fit for LHP Adrian Morejon in free agency

An All-Star with the San Diego Padres in 2025, he is coming off a dominant three-year stretch and is ready to cash in as a free agent.

There is a slight chance that the Padres make a qualifying offer to him, which would mean Philadelphia having to fork over draft compensation and international pool money, but it could still be worth it for the franchise to address a glaring hole on the team.

One of the knocks against Morejon entering free agency is that he hasn’t been deployed as a closer, but that won’t faze the Phillies at all. They are set at the back end with Jhoan Duran; where they struggle is building the bridge to their star closer, which Morejon could help them build.

Adding him, along with the fast-rising Alex McFarlane, would give manager Don Mattingly a righty and a lefty to deploy in late-game situations depending on the matchup. And there haven’t been many lefties more dominant than the Padres star.

Over the last three seasons, he has a 2.58 ERA across 211 games and 223.1 innings pitched. Morejon has struck out a whopping 248 batters with an ERA+ of 161, FIP of 2.46 and bWAR of 5.6, which indicates that his raw production is as good as it looks.

In 2026, left-handed relievers for Philadelphia allowed an OPS of .805, which was second-worst in MLB. Morejon would instantly help turn that around with an arsenal that includes 99 mph fastballs and a devastating changeup that opponents hit only .156 against.

Adding someone of his caliber to the bullpen would instantly turn what has been a weakness for the franchise into a strength.

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