The Cubs have added strike-thrower Brandon Morrow to the bullpen, as Theo Epstein strikes first at the Winter Meetings. Morrow signed a two-year deal with an option for a 3rd, worth reportedly somewhere around $20-22 mil.
Morrow will have deal with cubs. Expected to be for 10 or 11M a year.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 10, 2017
Source: The Chicago Cubs have agreed to terms with free agent RP Brandon Morrow on a two-year deal with an option. @MLBBruceLevine first said they were close. Deal is pending a physical.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 10, 2017
The 33-year-old Morrow had a fantastic 2017 season that came out of no-where, registering a 2.06 ERA along with his incredible 1.85 BB/9. Morrow is the exact type of arm the Cubs needed to add to their bullpen, which struggled to find consistency due to the lack of strike throwers.
Morrow has a checkered injury history and has struggled to stay healthy throughout his entire career, however last year showed that when he is right he has elite stuff – as he showcased in the World Series.
The veteran righty was the second person in World Series history to throw in all seven games for the Dodgers this postseason. And while I’m not in love with the idea of him closing, the Cubs will likely add another late-inning reliever in the coming days to round out their bullpen.
#Cubs close on Brandon Morrow, per @MLBBruceLevine. Had mentioned last week they were considering him to close. Likely will sign one other late-inning reliever as well.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 10, 2017
Morrow was the first of many names to be signed in what is expected to be another busy Winter Meetings for the Cubs.
