The Cubs have made a trade that could be quite useful.
UPDATE: The original article had this deal as Morgan for Patrick Wisdom. This is not the case — my fault for misreading info I found. Wisdom has been DFA’d. When the official return on this deal is sent out by the Cubs I will update this article again.
UPDATE: Here is the player going to Cleveland (via Jordan Bastian).
Official: Cubs have acquired RHP Eli Morgan from the Guardians in exchange for OF Alfonsin Rosario (No. 21 on Pipeline’s Top 30 for Chicago).
INF Patrick Wisdom DFA’d to clear a spot on the Cubs’ 40-man roster.
— Jordan Bastian (@bastianmlb.bsky.social) 2024-11-20T19:21:59.159Z
Alfonsin Rosario is 20 and batted .230/.344/.423 in 109 games for Low-A Myrtle Beach in 2024.
The Cubs have made their first major-league roster move of the offseason:
The Chicago Cubs are acquiring right-handed reliever Eli Morgan in a trade with the Cleveland Guardians, sources tell ESPN. Morgan was 3-0 with a 1.93 ERA last season and has a 3.23 career ERA in 173 innings as a relief pitcher.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 20, 2024
To make room for Morgan on the 40-man roster, Patrick Wisdom has been designated for assignment.
Eli Morgan, a 28-year-old righthander, had a good year in 2024, as noted, and also threw pretty well in the postseason. His K rate was down a bit in ‘24 compared to ‘23. Here is his pitch mix, from Baseball Savant:
Baseball Savant
Morgan missed some time with right elbow inflammation in 2024, but pitched well enough after his return and the Cubs must be satisfied with his medical reports. The pitch selection above doesn’t show any real change in velocity from his 2023 chart.
Note that Jeff Passan indicates Morgan’s ERA as a reliever in 173 innings. That’s a significant improvement from the 5.36 ERA he posted in 19 starts in 2021 and 2022 before he was moved full-time to the bullpen.
Patrick Wisdom leaves the Cubs with 84 career homers in blue pinstripes. That’s tied for 34th in franchise history with Ron Cey and Moose Moryn. Some of Wisdom’s home runs went a very long way. For example, this pinch hit grand slam last July 27 against the Royals [VIDEO].
I wish Wisdom the best wherever he winds up. He’s a fun player to watch and by all accounts a good teammate and clubhouse guy.
Just for fun, here are nine strikeuts Morgan had against the Cubs back in 2021; the last one is of Wisdom [VIDEO] (Scroll in to about 1:30 for the K of Wisdom.)
I think this is a very good trade for the Cubs. Morgan is arb-eligible in 2025 for the first time; MLB Trade Rumors projects he’ll get about $1 million in salary, which sounds about right.
What say you?