Blue Jays should consider pricey Adrian Morejon pursuit this offseason

The Toronto Blue Jays may already have one of baseball’s most exciting late-inning weapons in Louis Varland. The question this offseason is whether they should be aggressive enough to find him a running mate who could help turn the back end of their bullpen into one of the best in the majors.

That is where San Diego Padres reliever Adrian Morejon becomes an interesting name. In a recent FanSided story, Pat Ragazzo reported that a rival executive believes Morejon could land a contract in the range of four years and $60 million, putting him at a $15 million average annual value. That would be right in line with the three-year, $45 million deal Robert Suarez signed with Atlanta, and only slightly below the three-year, $51 million contract Devin Williams landed with the Mets.

That is top-of-the-market money for a reliever, and it immediately raises the question: would Toronto be willing to pay that kind of price to pair Morejon with Varland?

Adrian Morejon would give the Blue Jays a terrifying bullpen look for their opponents

The left-hander, still only 27, has posted a sub-3.00 ERA in three straight seasons and brings the type of velocity teams covet from March through October. His sinker has averaged 99.5 mph, while his four-seamer has sat around 99.3 mph, giving him overpowering stuff from the left side.

For the Blue Jays, there is an obvious appeal. Varland has already become a shutdown option as their closer, and adding Morejon would give Toronto a right-left combination that could shorten games to seven innings.

The Padres have used Morejon in front of Mason Miller, giving him experience as a high-leverage setup guy. The Blue Jays could ask him to fill that same role in Toronto, or they could actually implement a "closer by committee" design. The right-left combo could give manager John Schneider a truly unique element to close out games, and really get the best matchups, on paper, in those high-leverage situations.

The hesitation for Toronto would likely be around the actual price it could take to sign him. Four years and $60 million is a major commitment for any reliever, especially one who has only eight career saves in 19 chances. The largest free-agent contract for a reliever the Blue Jays have dished out is the three-year $37 million-dollar deal they gave this past offseason to Tyler Rogers, on a per-annual basis. Technically, B.J. Ryan's five-year $47 million contract in 2005 was a higher total dollar amount.

Toronto currently has a relatively cheap bullpen. In fact, Tyler Rogers is the only one who is owed major money next season, with his $12.3 million on the table. Everyone else is either in arbitration or will be a free agent. Guys like Varland are likely to earn a substantial raise, but right now, Rogers is the only guy making over a million bucks.

There is also the qualifying offer factor. If the Padres attach a qualifying offer to Morejon, signing him could cost more than money, although there's also the new CBA to factor in and there could be some changes to that aspect of free agency.

But if the Blue Jays believe Varland is already one half of an elite late-game duo, Morejon is the kind of free agent who could complete the picture.

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