CLEVELAND, Ohio — Eli Morgan is going to remember 2024.
He was part of the best bullpen in the MLB, but he wasn’t s headliner like Emmanuel Clase, Hunter Gaddis, Tim Herrin and Cade Smith. He had options as well, which put him on the shuttle between Cleveland and Class AAA Columbus when the Guardians needed to create a roster space.
On Tuesday the Guardians traded him to the Cubs for a minor league outfielder, who showed power and speed at Class A ball. This was an against- character trade for the G’s.
Morgan is usually the kind of pitcher they keep. He has three years of control left before free agency. He has a minor league option left and he’s eligible for arbitration for the first time this winter.
At 27 he’s controllable and isn’t going to break the bank salary wise.
The Guardians, however, traded him because they have relievers banging on the door behind him. Rookies Andrew Walters and Erik Sabrowski, who were late-season additions this year, are two of those relievers.
Walters is right-handed, like Morgan. Sabrowski is left-handed. Not only are they cheaper and younger, they probably have better stuff with the exception of Morgan’s changeup.
Walters and Sabrowski each made Cleveland’s two postseason rosters shortly after making their big league debuts. They kept veteran arms Nick Sandlin and Ben Lively on the outside looking in through most of the Guardians’ 10-game postseason run.
Trevor Stephan is also banging on the door. He missed all of 2024 after recovering from Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. He made 137 appearances in 2022 and 2023, while establishing himself as Clase’s set-up man.
Stephan should be ready to pitch sometime in the first half of 2025. Where he fits is a question to be solved at a later date.
The Guardians added three other pitchers to the 40-man roster Tuesday in preparation of the Rule 5 Draft. Two of them — Nic Enright and Franco Aleman — are relievers. The cupboard is crowded and we haven’t even mentioned Pedro Avila.
Morgan made his big league debut on May 28, 2021 against Toronto at Progressive Field. He was a starter then and found himself nearly blown off the mound as high winds buffeted the ballpark.
He did not encounter those winds this year, but there were obstacles.
On April 16 he threw two scoreless innings against Boston. The next day he was put on the IL with a sore right shoulder for more than a month.
On May 29, Morgan threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings against the Rockies. The next day he was placed on the injured list with a sore right elbow. He did not surface again until June 28. He made two appearances before being optioned to Columbus on July 4, not to be seen again until Aug. 4.
Out of sight, out of mind isn’t just a storyline in romance novels.
To Morgan’s credit he kept pitching well.
He went 3-0 with a 1.93 ERA (nine earned runs in 42 inning) with 34 strikeouts and 11 walks in 32 games. In 14 appearances at Columbus, he posted a 2.70 ERA (five earned runs in 16 2/3 innings).
When Morgan returned from exile in August, he went 2-0 with a 1.91 ERA (six runs in 28 1/3 innings) with 24 strikeouts and six walks in his final 20 appearances of the season. The opposition hit .186 against him.
Morgan pitched so well down the stretch that he made both postseason rosters, allowing one run in six appearances in the ALDS and ALCS. Now he’s headed to Chicago in exchange for outfielder Alfonsin Rosario, 20.
This year Rosario hit .230 (88 for 383) with 18 doubles, four triples, 16 homers and 73 RBI in 109 games for Class A Myrtle Beach. He stole 20 bases in 25 attempts and played mostly center field.
Rosario was the Cubs sixth round in 2023 out of the P27 Academy in Lexington, South Carolina.
Morgan spent eight seasons with Cleveland. He never said a whole lot to reporters. He was just one of those guys that came to the park, sat at his locker and did his job. After the game, you’d sometimes see him riding his scooter out the hallway of the Guardians locker room and into the Progressive Field concourse.
I wonder how the scooter will play at Wrigley Field.