Padres surging at the right time to keep Morejon at the Deadline

SAN DIEGO -- A.J. Preller, you’re on the clock.

The Padres will hit the Trade Deadline (3 p.m. PT on Monday) having won eight of their last nine, landing just one game back of the final spot in the National League Wild Card race.

“It’s kind of all come together at once,” said manager Craig Stammen.

Preller, San Diego’s ultra-aggressive general manager, was almost certainly keen on adding anyway. But the last couple of weeks should leave no doubt: The Padres are buyers.

Here’s some instant reaction from their 5-4 victory over the Giants on Sunday at Petco Park:

1. The case for keeping Morejon

Not that the Padres needed a reminder, but the value of Adrian Morejon was on full display on Sunday.

With Mason Miller given the day off, Morejon was tasked with securing the game’s final outs. He was called upon earlier than expected, with Willy Adames due up and the tying run on third base in the eighth. Morejon punched out Adames, then made quick work of the Giants in the ninth, with a couple more K's.

There’s been plenty of trade speculation surrounding Morejon. The Padres have an incredibly deep bullpen, and Morejon is a free agent after the season. But it’s clear where Morejon wants to be.

“Everybody knows that I want to stay here,” Morejon said through interpreter Pedro Gutierrez. “Even with free agency coming, they know I want to stay. This is the organization I’ve been a part of for more than 10 years. I’ve sacrificed a lot. I’m proud to be a member of the Padres. Hopefully that will continue.”

San Diego’s recent surge certainly helps Morejon’s case to stay. Yes, he’d be one of the top relievers available on the trade market. But the back-end duo of Miller and Morejon is currently the Padres’ biggest strength. In the postseason, they’ll be able to seriously shorten games.

Not to mention, Morejon is one of the longest-tenured Padres, having spent more than 10 years in the organization. He’s beloved in the clubhouse and once shared a bullpen with Stammen. On Sunday, Stammen was asked if he could ever envision a bullpen without Morejon.

“Cannot,” was all he said.

2. Rotation help on the way

With a crucial four-game series looming against the Diamondbacks, the Padres pushed Michael King’s start back to Monday. Only one game separates the two National League West rivals in the Wild Card race.

After that, the Padres have openings in their rotation for Games 2 and 3 of that series. Those are tentatively lined up to be bullpen days. But that’s subject to change, depending on what happens at the Trade Deadline.

Whatever happens at the Deadline, days like this one are going to be a bit more limited. The Padres aren’t going to eliminate bullpen games entirely. They might still use them once or twice through the rotation. But that’s a whole lot more sustainable than four times in the last five days.

The Padres’ pitching staff found a way, nonetheless. Kyle Hart worked three excellent innings. JP Sears and Griffin Canning allowed runs, but they got the ball to the back-end relievers with a lead.

“The pitching staff has continued to pick each other up throughout the whole course of the week,” Stammen said. “And the hitters have done their job, too, being able to score early and give us a little bit of a cushion to use guys how we would like to use them. It’s been complete baseball.”

Still, it would be a lot easier if the Padres had another full-time starter or two in the mix to ease some of the burden on their bullpen.

Help is almost certainly on the way. And it’s needed.

3. Merrill is all the way back

At some point a couple of weeks ago, as the Padres were opening their second half in Kansas City, Jackson Merrill found himself watching videos of his swing from high school. He felt like he wasn’t that hitter anymore. He wanted to be “free and easy, hitting the ball everywhere” again.

So Merrill decided to change his mindset. He just wanted to feel like that hitter again.

That mindset shift -- Merrill insists it isn’t anything mechanical -- sure seems to be working. He homered again on Sunday afternoon -- going 2-for-3 with a walk. Since the All-Star break, Merrill is 21-for-62 with six home runs.

“The worst thing you could ever do is change the swing you grew up with,” Merrill said recently.

The entire Padres offense has elevated its game recently. But perhaps no one more than Merrill, who batted .219 with a .628 OPS in the first half.

Suddenly, Merrill looks like his old self again -- swinging with that swing he grew up with.