Morejon out for season after TJ surgery

April 21st, 2021

Padres left-hander underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery on his left arm on Tuesday, manager Jayce Tingler said.

“So, he had Tommy John surgery and everything as of now, [shows] the surgery went well and [those were] the reports we were getting,” Tingler said after his club’s 6-0 loss to the Brewers at Petco Park on Tuesday night.

Projected to be a rising starter in San Diego's rotation heading into the season, the 22-year-old Morejon was limited to 4 2/3 innings across two starts this year before his April 11 start at Texas was cut short by the UCL injury. Recovery time following Tommy John surgery is generally 12 to 18 months.

Morejon has posted a 5.91 ERA over 16 appearances (eight starts) in the Majors.

Morejon, born in Cuba, signed with the Padres in 2016. He was a ’19 Futures Game player and was promoted to the big league club soon after.

The loss of Morejon for the rest of the 2021 season hurts the Padres’ starting rotation depth. But the club gets Dinelson Lamet back from a right elbow strain on Wednesday. He is scheduled to made his first start of the season in the homestand finale vs. Milwaukee.