After three straight trips to the National League Championship Series, the Chicago Cubs have retooled their roster as they prepare for the 2018 season.
How He Got Here
As the Cubs said goodbye to Wade Davis, they decided that Brandon Morrow would likely get the first shot at closing out games this season. To acquire him, the Cubs signed him to a two-year free agent contract, with a vesting option for a third season.
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Archivo
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What He Did in 2017
Morrow had a renaissance year as part of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ electric bullpen, posting a 2.06 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 44 innings of work. He didn’t allow a single home run all season long, and looked strong against the Cubs in the NLCS.
While Morrow doesn’t have the pedigree of past Cubs closers like Davis and Aroldis Chapman, he has the pitch arsenal that could make him very difficult to hit. He is primarily a ground-ball pitcher (hence his low home run rate) and his four-seam fastball induces a lot of ground-outs, according to PitchFX data. His cut fastball has the same impact, and he throws both pitches extremely hard.
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USA's John-Henry Krueger reacts after the men's 1,000m short track speed skating semi-final event during the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games, at the Gangneung Ice Arena in Gangneung on Feb. 17, 2018.
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Jonathon Lillis of the United States celebrates during the Freestyle Skiing Men's Aerials Qualification on day eight of the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Phoenix Snow Park on Feb. 17, 2018, in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea.
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Jonathon Lillis of the United States competes during the Freestyle Skiing Men's Aerials Qualification on day eight of the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Phoenix Snow Park on Feb. 17, 2018, in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea.
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Anastasiya Kuzmina of Slovakia celebrates as she approaches the finish line to to win gold during the Women's 12.5km Mass Start Biathlon on day eight of the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Alpensia Biathlon Centre on Feb. 17, 2018, in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea.
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Nathan Chen of the United States reacts after landing 5 of 6 quads during the Men's Single Free Program on day eight of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Gangneung Ice Arena on Feb. 17, 2018, in Gangneung, South Korea. The quads were not enough for the "Quad King" to place, however - Chen finished 5th behind Japan, Spain and China.
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Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan competes during the Men's Single Free Program on day eight of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Gangneung Ice Arena on Feb. 17, 2018, in Gangneung, South Korea.
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Maggie Voisin of the United States competes during the Freestyle Skiing Ladies' Ski Slopestyle qualification on day eight of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Phoenix Snow Park on Feb. 17, 2018, in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea.
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Lindsey Vonn of the United States reacts at the finish during the Alpine Skiing Ladies Super-G on day eight of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Jeongseon Alpine Centre on Feb. 17, 2018, in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea. Vonn, a favorite for gold, placed sixth.
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Nathan Chen of the United States competes during the Men's Single Free Program on day eight of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Gangneung Ice Arena on Feb. 17, 2018, in Gangneung, South Korea.
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Elana Meyers Taylor and Lauren Gibbs of United States make a run during the Women's Bobsleigh training at Olympic Sliding Centre on Feb. 17, 2018, in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea.
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Gold medallist Ester Ledecka, center, of the Czech Republic celebrates with silver medallist Anna Veith, left, of Austria and bronze medallist Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein during the victory ceremony for the Alpine Skiing Ladies Super-G on day eight of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Jeongseon Alpine Centre on Feb. 17, 2018, in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea.
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Gold medalist Ester Ledecka of the Czech Republic reacts at the finish during the Alpine Skiing Ladies Super-G on day eight of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Jeongseon Alpine Centre on Feb. 17, 2018 in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea.
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Alexei Bychenko of Israel reacts during the Men's Single Free Program on day eight of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Gangneung Ice Arena on Feb. 17, 2018, in Gangneung, South Korea.
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Deniss Vasiljevs of Latvia competes during the Men's Single Free Program on day eight of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Gangneung Ice Arena on Feb. 17, 2018, in Gangneung, South Korea.
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Adam Rippon of the United States waves after skating a clean program during the Men's Single Free Program on day eight of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Gangneung Ice Arena on Feb. 17, 2018, in Gangneung, South Korea.
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Devin Logan of the United States competes during the Freestyle Skiing Ladies' Ski Slopestyle qualification on day eight of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Phoenix Snow Park on Feb. 17, 2018, in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea.
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Anastasia Tatalina of Olympic Athlete from Russia competes during the Freestyle Skiing Ladies' Ski Slopestyle qualification on day eight of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Phoenix Snow Park on Feb. 17, 2018, in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea.
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Johanne Killi of Norway competes during the Freestyle Skiing Ladies' Ski Slopestyle qualification on day eight of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Phoenix Snow Park on Feb. 17, 2018, in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea.
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Paul Fentz of Germany competes during the Men's Single Free Program on day eight of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Gangneung Ice Arena on Feb. 17, 2018, in Gangneung, South Korea.
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Sarah Hoefflin of Switzerland competes during the Freestyle Skiing Ladies' Ski Slopestyle qualification on day eight of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Phoenix Snow Park on Feb. 17, 2018, in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea.
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Morisi Kvitelashvili of Georgia competes during the Men's Single Free Program on day eight of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Gangneung Ice Arena on Feb. 17, 2018, in Gangneung, South Korea.
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Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian and Carrie Russell of Jamaica start their run during the Women's Bobsleigh training at Olympic Sliding Centre on Feb. 17, 2018, in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea.
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Tomas Kundratek (84) of the Czech Republic collides with Mat Robinson (37) of Canada in the second period during the Men's Ice Hockey Preliminary Round Group A game on day eight of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Gangneung Hockey Centre on Feb. 17, 2018, in Gangneung, South Korea.
The cut fastball is also a great strikeout pitch for Morrow, as is his slider. The pitch moves a lot as it approaches the plate, and the quick dives that it takes on its flight path make it an extremely difficult pitch to hit.
As a result, Morrow was a highly-sought commodity by the Cubs, and they paid him significantly less than the $52 million that the Colorado Rockies dished out for Davis in free agency.
Our Prediction for 2018
Davis went almost the entire season without blowing a save, and while Morrow likely won’t be able to touch that kind of performance, we would anticipate that he’ll come in and do a solid job as the team’s closer if he’s able to win the job outright out of camp.
Having guys like Pedro Strop and Carl Edwards Jr. around him will definitely help the bullpen out, and if Justin Wilson is able to sort out the issues that he’s been dealing with since he arrived in Chicago, then Morrow is probably going to get the ball a lot in straight up save situations.
