{"id":10694,"date":"2024-11-20T22:17:23","date_gmt":"2024-11-20T22:17:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=10694"},"modified":"2024-11-20T22:17:23","modified_gmt":"2024-11-20T22:17:23","slug":"cubs-swing-trade-with-al-central-club-add-pitching-depth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=10694","title":{"rendered":"Cubs Swing Trade with AL Central Club, Add Pitching Depth"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>The Chicago Cubs bolstered their bullpen on Wednesday. ESPN\u2019s Jeff Passan reports that the Cubs will\u00a0acquire reliever Eli Morgan\u00a0from the Cleveland Guardians. In exchange, the Cubs parted with their 21st-ranked prospect, outfielder Ismael Mena was not involved in this deal however Alfonsin Rosario was, to complete the trade. To clear roster space for Morgan, the Cubs designated third baseman Patrick Wisdom for assignment. This move injects a high-quality late-inning arm into the Cubs\u2019 bullpen, bolstering their relief corps ahead of the 2025 season.<\/p>\n<h2>Cubs Acquire Eli Morgan, DFA Patrick Wisdom<\/h2>\n<p>Morgan, a 28-year-old right-hander, was drafted by the Cleveland Guardians in the eighth round (252nd overall) of the 2017 MLB Draft. After spending his entire professional career with the Guardians, Morgan enjoyed a breakout season in 2024. He posted a stellar 3-0 record, 1.93 ERA, and a minuscule 0.98 WHIP in 32 appearances. Although he missed time due to right elbow inflammation, Morgan played a crucial role in anchoring MLB\u2019s top-ranked bullpen.<\/p>\n<p>Morgan\u2019s four-year MLB career has yielded impressive results: an 18-12 record, 3.97 ERA, 21 holds, 1.16 WHIP, and 262 strikeouts in 265.1 innings. Notably, the majority of his innings have come in relief, where he has maintained a strong 4:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Morgan\u2019s arsenal features a 92.2 mph 4-seam fastball with sufficient arm-side run to induce a higher-than-average pop-up rate. He complements this with a hard slider (88 mph) and a slower variant (82 mph). Morgan\u2019s slider and changeup (previously the lowest velocity in MLB in 2021 at 75.3 mph) serve as his primary strikeout pitches.<\/p>\n<p>Morgan\u2019s exceptional control and ability to perform in both late-inning and long-relief appearances have made him a valuable asset. Despite limited appearances in 2024, Morgan ranked above-average to great in key metrics such as Run Value, xBA, Average Exit Velocity (85 mph), and Chase Rate.<\/p>\n<p>As an arbitration-eligible player in 2026, Morgan remains under club control through the 2028 season. Currently ranked 27th among MLB relievers with a market value of $4.7 million, Morgan\u2019s $945,000 salary for 2025 represents a bargain for the Cubs, who are acquiring a high-quality relief pitcher at a fraction of his worth.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo: \u00a9 Ken Blaze-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Chicago Cubs add bullpen depth in a trade with the Cleveland Guardians for reliever Eli Morgan.\u00a0Designate Patrick Wisdom for assignment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":10695,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Cubs Swing Trade with AL Central Club, Add Pitching Depth - 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