Chase Orellana, a 10-year-old from Lakeside, lost his baseball glove while playing on the mini ballfield in Gallagher Square during a visit to Petco Park in July 2026 — the same glove his father gave him after he hit his first home run for Lakeside National Little League in 2025. What happened next turned a kid's bad day into a story involving two San Diego Padres players, a stitched name, and a signed replacement mitt.
Chase's mother, Nicole Orellana, posted about the missing glove on social media, asking for its return with no questions asked, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. The post caught the attention of Melany Morejón, who is connected to Padres relief pitcher Adrián Morejón, and she reached out to Nicole Orellana directly. From there, the paper reports, Melany Morejón coordinated a visit to Petco Park for Chase and his mother.
Adrián Morejón told the Union-Tribune he wanted to help Chase after seeing the social media post about the missing glove, and the gesture carried personal weight for him. Morejón defected from Cuba as a 16-year-old prospect in October 2015, before signing an $11 million contract with the Padres in 2016 — at the time the largest international bonus in franchise history, according to Wikipedia. He remembered the difficulty his own parents faced finding baseball equipment for him back home. “It was hard for me to find a pair of cleats or gloves,” Morejón said, per the Union-Tribune. He added that he has the chance to make many kids happy, telling the paper, “For you.”
A Signed Glove and a Stadium Visit
Morejón hosted Chase and Nicole Orellana before a Padres game against the Astros, and gifted the boy a white-and-gray marbled Mizuno glove marked with his own signature. Chase hugged Morejón and later said the gift was thrilling and exciting, the Union-Tribune reported. During batting practice, Chase had shouted out to Padres players, and several of them ended up signing his binder of baseball cards.
Chase's story didn't stop with Morejón. Utility player Samad Taylor, who signed a minor league contract with San Diego in January 2026 before earning a June call-up and hitting his first MLB home run on June 14 of that year, met Chase at a local sporting goods store. Taylor bought Chase a green camouflage replacement glove — a nod to Chase's known attachment to the camo pattern — and paid to have the boy's name stitched onto the side, according to the same account. Taylor, a Southern California native from Corona who previously played for Kansas City and Seattle, per Baseball-Reference, is now part of San Diego's roster after climbing up from the minors this year.
A Familiar Field for Padres Families
The mini ballfield where Chase lost his glove sits inside the Play Ball Field at Gallagher Square, a space whose outfield scoreboard permanently displays the score from Game 2 of the 1984 World Series — still the only World Series win in franchise history, according to the San Diego Padres. The Padres completed a $20 million renovation of Gallagher Square in March 2024, expanding the public space to 2.8 acres with an upgraded Play Ball Field, an off-leash dog park, and a 35-foot steel-and-wood climbing structure shaped like a baseball bat, as reported by Ballpark Digest. That renovated square has since become one of the ballpark's busiest gathering spots, part of a footprint that Hoodline previously reported generated $913 million in economic impact and hosted 183 events across San Diego County in 2024.
Chase is on the autism spectrum, and Petco Park has a track record built for families like his. The stadium became the first on the West Coast to earn sensory-inclusive certification in April 2019 through a partnership with KultureCity, offering sensory bags with noise-canceling headphones and designated quiet zones, according to CBS 8 San Diego. The Padres hosted their fifth annual behind-the-scenes sensory preview event in March 2026 alongside Easterseals Southern California and the Autism Society San Diego, an event that serves as a practice run ahead of the team's annual Autism Acceptance Night, per Easterseals Southern California.
Bullpen Business Continues
Morejón enters this stretch of the season fresh off his first MLB All-Star selection in July 2025 as a Padres reliever. He signed a one-year, $3.9 million contract for 2026, avoiding salary arbitration ahead of prospective free agency following the 2027 season, according to Baseball-Reference. He has spent his entire professional career within the Padres organization since signing in 2016.
Back in Lakeside, Chase now has two gloves with stories attached — one signed by Morejón, one stitched with his own name by Taylor. His league, Lakeside National Little League, operates out of grounds at 10030 Marathon Parkway and competes in California District 41, hosting youth players from across East San Diego County, according to Lakeside National Little League. For a kid who lost his home-run glove on a mini field behind center field, the trade came with an unexpected upgrade.
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