Injuries have victimized free-agent reliever Brandon Morrow over the past year and a half, which recently forced the Cubs to buy him out for $3MM in lieu of exercising a $12MM option for 2020. However, that doesn’t mean the Cubs are uninterested in keeping Morrow in the fold. On the contrary, the club’s considering trying to bring the right-handed Morrow back on a minor-league deal, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Morrow, for his part, seems open to returning to the Cubs. Agent Joel Wolfe told Wittenmyer that “Brandon feels a certain sense of loyalty and obligation back to the Cubs to stay with them if they want him on a minor-league contract or something like that. He signed with the Cubs because he thought they were the best organization out there for him, and he still believes that.”
Morrow, then fresh off a stellar season with the Dodgers, joined the Cubs on a two-year, $21MM guarantee entering 2018. The Cubs’ decision looked brilliant at first, as Morrow pumped high-90s heat and fired 30 2/3 innings of 1.47 ERA/2.97 FIP ball with 9.1 K/9, 2.64 BB/9 and a 51.9 percent groundball rate over the 2018 season’s initial few months. Unfortunately, though, Morrow hasn’t taken a major league mound since July 15 of that year because of various injuries.
Back, biceps and elbow issues have been the latest problems during an injury-laden career for Morrow, once a promising starter who reinvented himself as an effective reliever before health troubles reared their head again during his Cubs tenure. Morrow has undergone two elbow surgeries since last November, including one at the end of this season, though he has progressed well enough that he should be ready for spring training, according to Wolfe.
If Morrow does regain health by next year, he’ll have a chance to emerge as a low-cost steal for the Cubs or some other team. In the Cubs’ case, they could clearly use bullpen help – especially with Steve Cishek, Brandon Kintzler, Pedro Strop and David Phelps among their free agents. However, it’s up in the air how much money the luxury tax-minded Cubs plan on spending as they work to improve their relief corps (and their roster as a whole) after falling short of expectations in 2019. If they’re on the hunt for potential bargains, a reunion with Morrow would seemingly make sense.
Minor league deal at the league minimum if he makes it is not bad since the Cubs already paid a 3 million buyout
hahahahahahahahahaha too much. I can’t stop laughing at Cubs.
Hilariously adept move, getting a talent like morrow on a no risk minor league deal, I agree. Literally any team in the league would do that
There’s nothing to not be open about here. If he goes and pulls a Brandon morrow and doesn’t pitch he didn’t require a 40 man roster spot or any additional significant money. Why not take a free roll? There’s nothing you can do about the sunk cost he was on his first deal there.
Low risk? Morrow pitched 1/2 a season for 21 million.
When a team cannot promote from within nor sign mid range to elite arms, that is a gailure of a FO.
this
Scumbag
@tycobb016
I am just curious why signing someone to a minor league deal is funny? Many teams would be willing to take Morrow on a minor league deal.
hahhahahaha!! Somebody making a big deal about a possible minor league deal that involves ZERO risk on the ballclub..
I’d be open to this
I’d be open to this like I’d be open to seeing Carl Edwards Jr. return.
So is this the part where the changes have to be made start? Because a guy w/2 elbow surgeries in a year seems like a good idea.
Smdh.
Shaking your dik head? You naughty man!
I find this move to be disturbing! Way to take one step forward and two steps back. If this is the kind of move Theo is planning heaven help us!
Can’t hurt to give the guy a minor league contract. It’s not like he has done anything to prove he’s not an effective pitcher anymore; he’s just had injury problems. This isn’t the type of offseason Theo has planned for the Cubs; he’s just willing to take a flyer on a guy who has been nothing but effective when healthy. This isn’t THE move (or moves) the Cubs will take to fix their bullpen.
Morrow was solid when he was actually on the mound, but for the most part the Cubs paid this guy a lot to sit on the Injured list. Between him, Chatwood, and Smyly, the Cubs blew over 50 million on three projects and got almost nothing to show for it. The Cubs margin for error is smaller than it’s ever been and their resources need to bring in talent that can be relied upon to contribute right away.
I could definitely see a team taking a chance on Morrow.
He feels a certain sense of loyalty. Tho he will leave Cubs in a second if another team offers more money or major league contract.
No team is offering Morrow a major league contract
I laughed at that loyalty part, too. He knows no one else wants him. Of course he’s “loyal.”
MLBTR should force people to take a training course and quiz about what a minor league deal is before being able to comment.
I’m not actually serious that they should do this but the comments on every single reclamation minor league deal are asinine and shows who actually understand mlb transactions
What specific comments?
During the season teams take fliers on cut or formerly injured players and sign them to minor league deals, like the Cubs may do here (or another team will do) for depth moves or to try to catch lightning in a bottle so to speak. Low risk high reward with knowledge most of them do not work out.
Example Cubs signing Smiley a few years ago and Graveman last year paying both to rehab with Club options.
Whenever it happens there are usually some commentors posting how dumb it is as though the team making the move is actually signing them to play for the team on a major league contract and count on them.
Not understanding what a minor league contract flyer with invite to spring training really means for example.
That is what Johnrealtime was talking about.
What he said ^. Think of a minor league deal that worked out this year (in which the player had a rough season or two previously) and look at MLBTR posting about the signing, you’ll see many people commenting how terrible of a signing it is despite the fact that it is literally no risk
You can see a bunch of comments like this on this very post
Korea
5/80 get it done theo lol
Wait what? He played like 2 months during that 2 year deal
At first I thought this was an article from the Onion
I would hope he would have some loyalty to us considering we gave him a contract that made eligible for a pension.
I would hope he would have some loyalty to us considering we gave him a contract that made eligible for a pension.
you can say that again
@Baez—that’s one of the best comments ever. The fact that I’m giving you the first like is a little disturbing to the humor found on this board. Well played.
To do what? Keep the bench from floating away?
Signing him to a minor league deal is not earth shattering news, nor is it dumb. Some people must read the title of an article and just post. It would be a prove it deal, a depth deal, and not someone they rely on deal.
this is a April Fools joke ….right !
You can only hope it’s not Ground Hog day
I think the Phillies should convert Vince Velasquez to be their closer and follow that up by signing several low risk bounceback candidates with closing experience. Brandon Morrow fits that description as does Greg Holland, Tyler Clippard, Sergio Romo, Trevor Rosenthal and others. VV averages almost 20 pitches per inning and that’s not going to change. He has that “closer’s mentality”, wanting to come out and blow batters away so why not allow him to do that out of the ‘pen? Signing guys like Brandon Morrow would provide a reasonable Plan B if the experiment fails. Relievers are so unpredictable from year to year and teams are constantly getting burned by dishing out lucrative multi-year pacts to releievrs (just ask the Rockies). Casting a wide net on players like the ones I mentioned above and hoping to catch lighting in a bottle with one or two of them seems so much more logical than shelling out 4 years and 50mil plus a draft pick for a Will Smith. Sorry for venting but I just read an article where the author suggested Will Smith as a good fit for the Phillies and there’s just no way Klentak should even be consisering it.
Theo dumpster-diving again. I guess that’s what happens when you make a laundry list of bonehead signings, daddy cuts off the credit card, and then you blame your good (future Hall of Fame) friend Joe Maddon.
Why? Unless it’s for a Double A contract. The incentives will be if he doesnt have at least 15 pitching appearances by July 1st he’ll be released.