Cubs decline option on Brandon Morrow, ending injury-plagued stint with club

Morrow, 35, became a free agent bust when elbow problems prevented the closer from pitching after the 2018 All-Star break.

SHARE Cubs decline option on Brandon Morrow, ending injury-plagued stint with club
Brandon Morrow will be a non-roster invitee at Cubs spring training.

Brandon Morrow earning one of his 22 saves for the Cubs in 2018.

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

The Cubs finally, mercifully ended the Brandon Morrow era Monday, when they declined to exercise the $12 million option on one of their worst free-agent contracts in recent years.

Paying the closer’s $3 million buyout was the least surprising of a handful of recent option decisions that all went as expected.

Signed to a two-year, $21 million deal after a breakout 2017 season for the Dodgers, Morrow was dominant in the 35 games he pitched for the Cubs.

But the right-hander lasted less than half a season. He has not pitched a full season in the majors since he was a rookie in 2007, mostly because of eight stints on the injured list for injuries to five body parts. He did not pitch for the Cubs after the 2018 All-Star break because of persistent elbow problems. His absence in 2019 contributed to the bullpen’s poor performance in leverage situations much of the season.

Six of those IL moves came before the Cubs signed him, making the contract arguably the worst of the three excessive pitcher signings before last season, if only because of the track record and small return. The Cubs also signed Tyler Chatwood for three years, $38 million and Yu Darvish for six years, $126 million that winter.

The Cubs exercised only two of their seven 2020 contract options, for first baseman Anthony Rizzo ($16.5 million) and left-hander Jose Quintana ($10.5 million).

They also declined options for pitchers Derek Holland ($7 million), David Phelps ($5 million), Kendall Graveman ($3 million) and Tony Barnette ($3 million).

The Cubs have 10 players, including six pitchers, under contract for next season for a total of $134.5 million. That includes closer Craig Kimbrel, signed in June after Morrow experienced another setback.

They also have seven arbitration-eligible players, including All-Stars Javy Baez, Kris Bryant and Willson Contreras.

In other moves announced Monday, the Cubs added right-hander Colin Rea (14-4, 3.95 ERA at AAA Iowa) to the 40-man roster and outrighted right-hander Allen Webster to Class AAA Iowa.

The Latest
The Cubs opened the season against the reigning World Series champions in Texas.
Murder charges have been filed against suspect Christian I. Soto, 22. Investigators haven’t determined a motive for the attacks, but they say Soto had been smoking marijuana before the rampage.
To celebrate the historic coinciding of the emerging of two broods, artists can adopt a cicada for free in exchange for decorating it and displaying it publicly. Others can purchase the cicadas for $75.
Senators tasked with clearing Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s appointments are raising concerns over his renomination of Illinois Emergency Management Agency Director Alicia Tate-Nadeau after the Sun-Times last year reported an executive assistant accounted for more than $240,000 in billings.